JK  361  .B8  1905 
Brewer,  David  J.  1837-1910. 
rhe  United  States  a 
Christian  nation 


V 


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THE  UNITED  STATES 
A  CHRISTIAN  NATION 


^atierforD  Lf&rarp  Lectures! 


THE  UNITED  STATES 
A  CHRISTIAN 
NATION 


BY 

DAVID  J.  BREWER 

Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States 


fl^flatoelplna : 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  COMPANY 

1905 


Copyright,  1905 

By  THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  COMPANY 


Set  up,  electrotyped  and  published 
September,  1905 


^atierforti  JLib tat?  JLtctnw 


From  the  provisions  of  the  donor : 

“The  money  [$10,000]  to  be  kept  safely  in¬ 
vested,  the  Income  only  to  be  used  for  an  annual 
course  or  series  of  lectures  before  the  senior 
class  of  the  College  and  other  students,  on  the 
Bible,  its  history,  and  its  literature,  and,  as  way 

may  open  for  it,  upon  its  doctrine  and  its  teach- 

•  „  „  >  > 
mg. 


THREE  LECTURES 
To  the  Students  of  Havep.ford  College 

I.  Thb  United  States  a  Christian  Nation 
II.  Our  Duty  as  Citizens 


III. 


The  Promise  and  the  Possibility  of  thb  Future 


I.  THE  UNITED  STATES  A 
CHRISTIAN  NATION 


THE  UNITED  STATES  A 
CHRISTIAN  NATION 


E  classify  nations  in  various  ways, 
as,  for  instance,  by  their  form 
of  government.  One  is  a  king¬ 
dom,  another  an  empire,  and 
still  another  a  republic.  Also  by 
race.  Great  Britain  is  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  nation,  France  a  Gallic,  Germany  a 
Teutonic,  Russia  a  Slav.  And  still  again  by 
religion.  One  is  a  Mohammedan  nation, 
others  are  heathen,  and  still  others  are  Chris¬ 
tian  nations. 

This  republic  is  classified  among  the 
Christian  nations  of  the  world.  It  was  so 
formally  declared  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States.  In  the  case  of  Holy 
.  Trinity  Church  vs.  United  States,  143  U.  S. 
471,  that  court,  after  mentioning  various 
circumstances,  added,  “these  and  many  other 
matters  which  might  be  noticed,  add  a  vol¬ 
ume  of  unofficial  declarations  to  the  mass  of 
organic  utterances  that  this  is  a  Christian 
nation.” 


11 


But  in  what  sense  can  it  be  called  a  Chris¬ 
tian  nation?  Not  in  the  sense  that  Christi¬ 
anity  is  the  established  religion  or  that  the 
people  are  in  any  manner  compelled  to  sup¬ 
port  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  Constitution 
specifically  provides  that  “Congress  shall 
make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise 
thereof/'  Neither  is  it  Christian  m  the  sense 
that  all  its  citizens  are  either  in  fact  or  name 
Christians.  On  the  contrary,  all  religions 
have  free  scope  within  our  borders.  Num¬ 
bers  of  our  people  profess  other  religions, 
and  many  reject  all.  Nor  is  it  Christian  in 
the  sense  that  a  profession  of  Christianity  is 
a  condition  of  holding  office  or  otherwise 
engaging  in  the  public  service,  or  essential 
to  recognition  either  politically  or  socially. 
In  fact  the  government  as  a  legal  organiza¬ 
tion  is  independent  of  all  religions. 

Nevertheless,  we  constantly  speak  of  this 
republic  as  a  Christian  nation — in  fact,  as 
the  leading  Christian  nation  of  the  world. 
This  popular  use  of  the  term  certainly  has 
significance.  It  is  not  a  mere  creation. of 
the  imagination.  It  is  not  a  term  of  derision 
but  has  a  substantial  basis — one  which  justi¬ 
fies  its  use.  Let  us  analyze  a  little  and  see 
what  is  the  basis. 

Its  use  has  had  from  the  early  settlements 


12 


on  our  shores  and  still  has  an  official  founda¬ 
tion.  It  is  only  about  three  centuries  since 
the  beginnings  of  civilized  life  within  the 
"limits  of  these  United  States.  And  those 
beginnings  were  in  a  marked  and  marvelous 
degree  identified  with  Christianity.  The 
commission  from  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to 
Columbus  recites  that  “it  is  hoped  that  by 
God’s  assistance  some  of  the  continents  and 
islands  in  the  ocean  will  be  discovered.” 
The  first  colonial  grant,  that  made  to  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  in  1584,  authorized  him  to 
enact  statutes  for  the  government  of  the 
proposed  colony,  provided  that  “they  be  not 
against  the  true  Christian  faith  now  pro¬ 
fessed  in  the  Church  of  England.”  The  first 
charter  of  Virginia,  granted  by  King  James 
I,  in  1606,  after  reciting  the  application  of 
certain  parties  for  a  charter,  commenced  the 
grant  in  these  words :  “We,  greatly  com¬ 
mending,  and  graciously  accepting  of,  their 
desires  for  the  furtherance  of  so  noble  a 
work,  which  may,  by  the  providence  of  Al¬ 
mighty  God,  hereafter  tend  to  the  glory  of 
His  Divine  Majesty,  in  propagating  the 
Christian  religion  to  such  people  as  yet  live 
in  darkness  and  miserable  ignorance  of  the 
true  knowledge  and  worship  of  God.”  And 
language  of  similar  import  is  found  in  subse¬ 
quent  charters  of  the  same  colony,  from  the 

13 


same  king,  in  1609  and  1611.  The  cele¬ 
brated  compact  made  by  the  Pilgrims  on  the 
Mayflower,  in  1620,  recites :  “Having  under¬ 
taken  for  the  glory  of  God  and  advancement 
of  the  Christian  faith  and  the  honor  of  our 
king  and  country  a  voyage  to  plant  the  first 
colony  in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia/’ 

The  charter  of  New  England,  granted 
by  James  I,  in  1620,  after  referring  to  a 
petition,  declares:  “We,  according  to  our 
princely  inclination,  favoring  much  their 
worthy  disposition,  in  hope  thereby  to  ad¬ 
vance  the  enlargement  of  Christian  religion, 
to  the  glory  of  God  Almighty.” 

The  charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  granted 
in  1629  by  Charles  I,  after  several  provisions, 
recites :  “Whereby  our  said  people,  inhabi¬ 
tants  there,  may  be  so  religiously,  peaceably 
and  civilly  governed  as  their  good  life  and 
orderly  conversation  may  win  and  incite  the 
natives  of  the  country  to  their  knowledge 
and  obedience  of  the  only  true  God  and 
Saviour  of  mankind,  and  the  Christian  faith, 
which  in  our  royal  intention  and  the  adven¬ 
turers  free  profession,  is  the  principal  end  of 
this  plantation,”  which  declaration  was  sub¬ 
stantially  repeated  in  the  charter  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Bay  granted  by  William  and  Mary, 
in  1691. 

The  fundamental  orders  of  Connecticut, 

14 


under  which  a  provisional  government  was 
instituted  in  1638-1639,  provided:  “Foras¬ 
much  as  it  has  pleased  the  Almighty  God 
by  the  wise  disposition  of  His  divine  provi¬ 
dence  so  to  order  and  dispose  of  things  that 
we,  the  inhabitants  and  residents  of  Windsor, 
Hartford  and  Wethersfield,  are  now  cohabi- 
tating  and  dwelling  in  and  upon  the  River 
of  Connecticut  and  the  lands  thereto  ad¬ 
joining;  and  well  knowing  where  a  people 
are  gathered  together  the  word  of  God  re¬ 
quires  that  to  maintain  the  peace  and  union 
of  such  a  people  there  should  be  an  orderly 
and  decent  government  established  accord¬ 
ing  to  God,  to  order  and  dispose  of  the 
affairs  of  the  people  at  all  seasons  as  occa¬ 
sion  shall  require ;  do  therefore  associate  and 
conjoin  ourselves  to  be  as  one  public  state 
or  commonwealth ;  and  do  for  ourselves  and 
our  successors  and  such  as  shall  be  adjoined 
to  us  at  any  time  hereafter  enter  into  combin¬ 
ation  and  confederation  together  to  main¬ 
tain  and  preserve  the  liberty  and  purity  of 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  which  we  now 
profess,  as  also  the  discipline  of  the  churches, 
which,  according  to  the  truth  of  the  said 
gospel,  is  now  practiced  amongst  us.”  In 
the  preamble  of  the  Constitution  of  1776  it 
was  declared,  “the  free  fruition  of  such  lib¬ 
erties  and  privileges  as  humanity,  civility 

15 


and  Christianity  call  for,  as  is  due  to  every 
man  in  his  place  and  proportion,  without  im¬ 
peachment  and  infringement,  hath  ever  been, 
and  will  be  the  tranquility  and  stability  of 
churches  and  commonwealths;  and  the  de¬ 
nial  thereof,  the  disturbance,  if  not  the  ruin 
of  both.” 

In  1638  the  first  settlers  in  Rhode  Island 
organized  a  local  government  by  signing  the 
following  agreement : 

“We  whose  names  are  underwritten  do 
here  solemnly  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah 
incorporate  ourselves  into  a  Bodie  Politick 
and  as  He  shall  help,  will  submit  our  per¬ 
sons,  lives  and  estates  unto  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords 
and  to  all  those  perfect  and  most  absolute 
laws  of  his  given  us  in  his  holy  word  of 
truth,  to  be  guided  and  judged  thereby. 
Exod.  24 :  3,  4 ;  II  Chron.  1 1 :  3 ;  II  Kings 
1 1  :iy.” 

The  charter  granted  to  Rhode  Island,  in 
1663,  naming  the  petitioners,  speaks  of  them 
as  “pursuing,  with  peaceable  and  loyal  minds, 
their  sober,  serious  and  religious  intentions, 
of  godly  edifying  themselves  and  one  an¬ 
other  in  the  holy  Christian  faith  and  wor¬ 
ship  as  they  were  persuaded;  together  with 
the  gaining  over  and  conversion  of  the  poor, 
ignorant  Indian  natives,  in  these  parts  of 
16 


America,  to  the  sincere  profession  and  obedi¬ 
ence  of  the  same  faith  and  worship/’ 

The  charter  of  Carolina,  granted  in  1663 
by  Charles  II,  recites  that  the  petitioners, 
“being  excited  with  a  laudable  and  pious  zeal 
for  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  faith.” 

In  the  preface  of  the  frame  of  government 
prepared  in  1682  by  William  Penn,  for 
Pennsylvania,  it  is  said :  “They  weakly  err, 
that  think  there  is  no  other  use  of  govern¬ 
ment  than  correction,  which  is  the  coarsest 
part  of  it;  daily  experience  tells  us  that  the 
care  and  regulation  of  many  other  affairs, 
more  soft,  and  daily  necessary,  make  up 
much  of  the  greatest  part  of  government; 
and  which  must  have  followed  the  peopling 
of  the  world,  had  Adam  never  fell,  and  will 
continue  among  men,  on  earth,  under  the 
highest  attainments  they  may  arrive  at,  by 
the  coming  of  the  blessed  second  Adam,  the 
Lord  from  heaven.”  And  with  the  laws 
prepared  to  go  with  the  frame  of  govern¬ 
ment,  it  was  further  provided  “that  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  good  example  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  and  the  ease  of  the  creation, 
every  first  day  of  the  week,  called  the  Lord’s 
Day,  people  shall  abstain  from  their  com¬ 
mon  daily  labor  that  they  may  the  better  dis¬ 
pose  themselves  to  worship  God  according 
to  their  understandings.” 


2 


*7 


In  the  charter  of  privileges  granted,  in 
1701,  by  William  Penn  to  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania  and  territories  thereunto  be¬ 
longing  (such  territories  afterwards  con¬ 
stituting  the  State  of  Delaware),  it  is  re¬ 
cited  :  “Because  no  people  can  be  truly  happy, 
though  under  the  greatest  enjoyment  of  civil 
liberties,  if  abridged  of  the  freedom  of  their 
consciences  as  to  their  religious  profession 
and  worship;  and  Almighty  God  being  the 
only  Lord  of  Conscience,  Father  of  Lights 
and  Spirits,  and  the  author  as  well  as  object 
of  all  divine  knowledge,  faith  and  worship, 
who  only  doth  enlighten  the  minds  and  per¬ 
suade  and  convince  the  understandings  of 
the  people,  I  do  hereby  grant  and  declare/’ 

The  Constitution  of  Vermont,  of  1777, 
granting  the  free  exercise  of  religious  wor¬ 
ship,  added,  “Nevertheless,  every  sect  or  de¬ 
nomination  of  people  ought  to  observe  the 
Sabbath,  or  the  Lord’s  Day,  and  keep  up  and 
support  some  sort  of  religious  worship, 
which  to  them  shall  seem  most  agreeable  to 
the  revealed  will  of  God.”  And  this  was 
repeated  in  the  Constitution  of  1786. 

In  the  Constitution  of  South  Carolina,  of 
1778,  it  was  declared  that  “the  Christian 
Protestant  religion  shall  be  deemed  and  is 
hereby  constituted  and  declared  to  be  the 
established  religion  of  this  State.”  And  fur- 
18 


tlier,  that  no  agreement  or  union  of  men 
upon  pretense  of  religion  should  be  entitled 
to  become  incorporated  and  regarded  as  a 
church  of  the  established  religion  of  the 
State,  without  agreeing  and  subscribing  to 
a  book  of  five  articles,  the  third  and  fourth 
of  which  were  “that  the  Christian  religion  is 
the  true  religion ;  that  the  holy  scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  are  of  divine 
inspiration,  and  ar^  the  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.” 

Passing  beyond  these  declarations  which 
are  found  in  the  organic  instruments  of  the 
colonies,  the  following  are  well  known  his¬ 
torical  facts :  Lord  Baltimore  secured  the 
charter  for  a  Maryland  colony  in  order  that 
he  and  his  associates  might  continue  their 
Catholic  worship  free  from  Protestant  perse¬ 
cution.  Roger  Williams,  exiled  from  Massa¬ 
chusetts  because  of  his  religious  views,  estab¬ 
lished  an  independent  colony  in  Rhode  Island. 
The  Huguenots,  driven  from  France  by  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  sought  in  the  more  southern 
colonies  a  place  where  they  could  live  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  Huguenot  faith.  It  is  not 
exaggeration  to  say  that  Christianity  in  some 
of  its  creeds  was  the  principal  cause  of  the 
settlement  of  many  of  the  colonies,  and  co¬ 
operated  with  business  hopes  and  purposes  in 
the  settlement  of  the  others.  Beginning  in 

19 


this  way  and  under  these  influences  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  colonial  life  had  an  em¬ 
phatic  Christian  tone. 

From  the  very  first  efforts  were  made, 

largely  it  must  be  conceded  by  Catholics,  to 

bring  the  Indians  under  the  influence  of 

Christianity.  Who  can  read  without  emo- 
* 

tion  the  story  of  Marquette,  and  others  like 
him,  enduring  all  perils  and  dangers  and 
toiling  through  the  forests  of  the  west  in 
their  efforts  to  tell  the  story  of  Jesus  to  the 
savages  of  North  America? 

Within  less  than  one  hundred  years  from 
the  landing  at  Jamestown  three  colleges  were 
established  in  the  colonies ;  Harvard  in  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  William  and  Mary  in  Virginia 
and  Yale  in  Connecticut.  The  first  seal  used 
by  Harvard  College  had  as  a  motto,  “In 
Christi  Gloriam,”  and  the  charter  granted 
by  Massachuetts  Bay  contained  this  recital : 
“Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God 
many  well  devoted  persons  have  been  and 
daily  are  moved  and  stirred  up  to  give  and 
bestow  sundry  gifts  .  .  .  that  may  con¬ 

duce  to  the  education  of  the  English  and 
Indian  youth  of  this  country,  in  knowledge 
and  godliness.”  The  charter  of  William 
and  Mary,  reciting  that  the  proposal  was  “to 
the  end  that  the  Church  of  Virginia  may  be 
furnished  with  a  seminary  of  ministers  of 
20 


the  gospel,  and  that  the  youth  may  be  piously 
educated  in  good  letters  and  manners,  and 
that  the  Christian  faith  may  be  propagated 
amongst  the  western  Indians,  to  the  glory 
of  Almighty  God”  made  the  grant  “for  prop¬ 
agating  the  pure  gospel  of  Christ,  our  only 
Mediator,  to  the  praise  and  honor  of  Al¬ 
mighty  God.”  The  charter  of  Yale  declared 
as  its  purpose  to  fit  “young  men  for  public 
employment  both  in  church  and  civil  state,” 
and  it  provided  that  the  trustees  should  be 
Congregational  ministers  living  in  the  col¬ 
ony. 

In  some  of  the  colonies,  particularly  in 
New  England,  the  support  of  the  church  was 
a  matter  of  public  charge,  even  as  the  com¬ 
mon  schools  are  to-day.  Thus  the  Constitu¬ 
tion  of  Massachusetts,  of  1780,  Part  I,  Arti¬ 
cle  3,  provided  that  “the  legislature  shall, 
from  time  to  time,  authorize  and  require,  the 
several  towns,  parishes,  precincts,  and  other 
bodies  politic  or  religious  societies  to  make 
suitable  povision  at  their  own  expense  for 
the  institution  of  the  public  worship  of  God 
and  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  Prot¬ 
estant  teachers  of  piety,  religion  and  moral¬ 
ity  in  all  cases  where  such  provision  shall 
not  be  made  voluntarily.” 

Article  6  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  of  the  Con¬ 
stitution  of  New  Hampshire,  of  i7&4>  re" 

21 


peated  in  the  Constitution  of  1792,  empow¬ 
ered  “the  legislature  to  authorize  from 
time  to  time,  the  several  towns,  parishes, 
bodies  corporate,  or  religious  societies  within 
this  State,  to  make  adequate  provision  at 
their  own  expense  for  the  support  and  main¬ 
tenance  of  public  Protestant  teachers  of 
piety,  religion  and  morality.”  In  the  fun¬ 
damental  Constitutions  of  1769,  prepared 
for  the  Carolinas,  by  the  celebrated  John 
Locke,  Article  96  reads :  “As  the  country 
comes  to  be  sufficiently  planted  and  distrib¬ 
uted  into  fit  divisions,  it  shall  belong  to  the 
parliament  to  take  care  for  the  building  of 
churches,  and  the  public  maintenance  of  di¬ 
vines  to  be  employed  in  the  exercise  of  re¬ 
ligion  according  to  the  Church  of  England, 
which  being  the  only  true  and  orthodox  and 
the  national  religion  of  all  the  king’s  do¬ 
minions,  is  so  also  of  Carolina,  and,  there¬ 
fore,  it  alone  shall  be  allowed  to  receive  pub¬ 
lic  maintenance  by  grant  of  parliament.” 

In  Maryland,  by  the  Constitution  of  1776, 
it  was  provided  that  “the  legislature  may,  in 
their  discretion,  lay  a  general  and  equal  tax, 
for  the  support  of  the  Christian  religion.” 

In  several  colonies  and  states  a  profession 
of  the  Christian  faith  was  made  an  indis¬ 
pensable  condition  to  holding  office.  In  the 
frame  of  government  for  Pennsylvania,  pre- 
22 


pared  by  William  Penn,  in  1683,  it  was  pro¬ 
vided  that  “all  treasurers,  judges  . 
and  other  officers  .  .  .  and  all  members 

elected  to  serve  in  provincial  council  and 
general  assembly,  and  all  that  have  right 
to  elect  such  members,  shall  be  such  as  pro¬ 
fess  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.”  And  in  the  char¬ 
ter  of  privileges  for  that  colony,  given  in 
1701  by  William  Penn  and  approved  by  the 
colonial  assembly  it  was  provided  “that  all 
persons  who  also  profess  to  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  World,  shall  be 
capable  ...  to  serve  this  government  in 
any  capacity,  both  legislatively  and  execu¬ 
tively.” 

In  Delaware,  by  the  Constitution  of 
1776,  every  officeholder  was  required  to 
make  and  subscribe  the  following  declara¬ 
tion  :  “I,  A.  B.,  do  profess  faith  in  God  the 
Father,  and  in  Jesus  Christ  His  Only  Son, 
and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  one  God,  blessed  for¬ 
evermore;  and  I  do  acknowledge  the  Holy 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  to 
be  given  by  divine  inspiration.” 

New  Hampshire,  in  the  Constitutions  of 
1784  and  1792,  required  that  senators  and 
representatives  should  be  of  the  “Protestant 
religion,”  and  this  provision  remained  in 
force  until  1877. 

The  fundamental  Constitutions  of  the  Car- 

23 


olinas  declared :  “No  man  shall  be  permitted 
to  be  a  freeman  of  Carolina,  or  to  have  any 
estate  or  habitation  within  it  that  doth  not 
acknowledge  a  God,  and  that  God  is  publicly 
and  solemnly  to  be  worshiped.” 

The  Constitution  of  North  Carolina,  of 
1776,  provided:  “That  no  person  who  shall 
deny  the  being  of  God  or  the  truth  of  the 
Protestant  religion,  or  the  divine  authority 
either  of  the  Old  or  New  Testaments,  or 
who  shall  hold  religious  principles  incom¬ 
patible  with  the  freedom  and  safety  of  the 
State,  shall  be  capable  of  holding  any  office 
or  place  of  trust  or  profit  in  the  civil  depart¬ 
ment  within  this  State.”  And  this  remained 
in  force  until  1835,  when  it  was  amended  by 
changing  the  word  “Protestant”  to  “Chris¬ 
tian,”  and  as  so  amended  remained  in  force 
until  the  Constitution  of  1868.  And  in  that 
Constitution  among  the  persons  disqualified 
for  office  were  “all  persons  who  shall  deny 
the  being  of  Almighty  God.” 

New  Jersey,  by  the  Constitution  of  1776, 
declared  “that  no  Protestant  inhabitant  of 
this  colony  shall  be  denied  the  enjoyment  of 
any  civil  right  merely  on  account  of  his  re¬ 
ligious  principles,  but  that  all  persons  pro¬ 
fessing  a  belief  in  the  faith  of  any  Protestant 
sect,  who  shall  demean  themselves  peaceably 
under  the  government  as  hereby  established, 
24 


shall  be  capable  of  being  elected  into  any 
office  of  profit  or  trust,  or  being  a  member  of 
either  branch  of  the  legislature.” 

The  Constitution  of  South  Carolina,  of 
1776,  provided  that  no  person  should  be  eligi¬ 
ble  to  the  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives 
“unless  he  be  of  the  Protestant  religion.” 

Massachusetts,  in  its  Constitution  of  1780, 
required  from  governor,  lieutenant-governor, 
councillor,  senator  and  representative  before 
proceeding  to  execute  the  duties  of  his  place 
or  office  a  declaration  that  “I  believe  the 
Christian  religion,  and  have  a  firm  persua¬ 
sion  of  its  truth.” 

By  the  fundamental  orders  of  Connecticut 
the  governor  was  directed  to  take  an  oath  to 
“further  the  execution  of  justice  according 
to  the  rule  of  God’s  word;  so  help  me  God, 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.” 

The  Vermont  Constitution  of  1777  re¬ 
quired  of  every  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  that  he  take  this  oath  :  “I  do 
believe  in  one  God,  the  creator  and  governor 
of  the  universe,  the  rewarder  of  the  good 
and  punisher  of  the  wicked,  and  I  do  ac¬ 
knowledge  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  to  be  given  by  divine  in¬ 
spiration,  and  own  and  profess  the  Protest¬ 
ant  religion.”  A  similar  requirement  was 
provided  by  the  Constitution  of  1786. 

25 


In  Maryland,  by  the  Constitution  of  1776, 
every  person  appointed  to  any  office  of  profit 
or  trust  was  not  only  to  take  an  official 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State,  but  also 
to  “subscribe  a  declaration  of  his  belief  in 
the  Christian  religion.”  In  the  same  State, 
in  the  Constitution  of  1851,  it  was  declared 
that  no  other  test  or  qualification  for  ad¬ 
mission  to  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  shall 
be  required  than  the  official  oath  “and  a 
declaration  of  belief  in  the  Christian  relig¬ 
ion;  and  if  the  party  shall  profess  to  be  a 
Jew  the  declaration  shall  be  of  his  belief  in 
a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments.” 
As  late  as  1864  the  same  State  in  its  Consti¬ 
tution  had  a  similar  provision,  the  change 
being  one  merely  of  phraseology,  the  provi¬ 
sion  reading,  “a  declaration  of  belief  in  the 
Christian  religion,  or  of  the  existence  of 
God,  and  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments.” 

Mississippi,  by  the  Constitution  of  1817, 
provided  that  “no  person  who  denies  the 
being  of  God  or  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments  shall  hold  any  office  in  the 
civil  department  of  the  State.” 

Another  significant  matter  is  the  recogni¬ 
tion  of  Sunday.  That  day  is  the  Christian 
Sabbath,  a  day  peculiar  to  that  faith,  and 
known  to  no  other.  It  would  be  impossible 
26 


within  the  limits  of  a  lecture  to  point  out  all 
the  ways  in  which  that  day  is  recognized. 
The  following  illustrations  must  suffice :  By 
the  United  States  Constitution  the  President 
is  required  to  approved  all  bills  passed  by 
Congress.  If  he  disapproves  he  returns  it 
with  his  veto.  And  then  specifically  it  is  pro¬ 
vided  that  if  not  returned  by  him  within  ten 
days,  “Sundays  excepted,”  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him  it  becomes  a  law. 
Similar  provisions  are  found  in  the  Consti¬ 
tutions  of  most  of  the  States,  and  in  thirty- 
six  out  of  forty-five  is  the  same  expression, 
“Sundays  excepted.” 

Louisiana  is  one  of  the  nine  States  in 
whose  present  Constitution  the  expression, 
“Sundays  excepted,”  is  not  found.  Four 
earlier  Constitutions  of  that  State  (those  of 
1812,  1845,  1852  and  1864)  contained, while 
the  three  later  ones,  1868,  1879  and  1881 
omit  those  words.  In  State  ex  rel.  vs.  Sec¬ 
retary  of  State,  a  case  arising  under  the  last 
Constitution,  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Louisiana  (52  La.  An.  9 36),  the  question 
was  presented  as  to  the  effect  of  a  governor’s 
veto  which  was  returned  within  time  if  a 
Sunday  intervening  between  the  day  of  pre¬ 
sentation  of  the  bill  and  the  return  of  the 
veto  was  excluded,  and  too  late  if  it  was 
included;  the  burden  of  the  contention  on 

27 


the  one  side  being  that  the  change  in  the 
phraseology  of  the  later  Constitutions  in 
omitting  the  words  “Sundays  excepted”  in¬ 
dicated  a  change  in  the  meaning  of  the  con¬ 
stitutional  provision  in  respect  to  the  time 
of  a  veto.  The  court  unanimously  held  that 
the  Sunday  was  to  be  excluded.  In  the 
course  of  its  opinion  it  said  (p.  944)  : 

“In  law  Sundays  are  generally  excluded 
as  days  upon  which  the  performance  of  any 
act  demanded  by  the  law  is  not  required. 
They  are  held  to  be  dies  non  juridici. 

“And  in  the  Christian  world  Sunday  is  re¬ 
garded  as  the  ‘Lord’s  Day/  and  a  holiday — 
a  day  of  cessation  from  labor. 

“By  statute,  enacted  as  far  back  as 
1838,  this  day  is  made  in  Louisiana  one  of 
‘public  rest.’  Rev.  Stat.,  Sec.  522;  Code  of 
Practice,  207,  763. 

“This  is  the  policy  of  the  State  of  long 
standing  and  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
are  to  be  considered  as  intending  to  con¬ 
form  to  the  same.” 

By  express  command  of  Congress  studies 
are  not  pursued  at  the  military  or  naval 
academies,  and  distilleries  are  prohibited 
from  operation  on  Sundays,  while  chaplains 
are  required  to  hold  religious  services  once 
at  least  on  that  day. 

By  the  English  statute  of  29  Charles  II 
28 


no  tradesman,  artificer,  workman,  laborer, 
or  other  person  was  permitted  to  do  or  ex¬ 
ercise  any  worldly  labor,  business  or  work  of 
ordinary  calling  upon  the  Lord’s  Day,  or 
any  part  thereof,  works  of  necessity  or 
charity  only  excepted.  That  statute,  with 
some  variations,  has  been  adopted  by  most 
if  not  all  the  States  of  the  Union.  In  Mass¬ 
achusetts  it  was  held  that  one  injured  while 
traveling  in  the  cars  on  Sunday,  except  in 
case  of  necessity  or  charity,  was  guilty  of 
contributory  negligence  and  could  recover 
nothing  from  the  railroad  company  for  the 
injury  he  sustained.  And  this  decision  was 
affirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  A  statute  of  the  State  of  Georgia, 
making  the  running  of  freight  trains  on 
Sunday  a  misdemeanor,  was  also  upheld  by 
that  court.  By  decisions  in  many  States  a 
contract  made  on  Sunday  is  invalid  and  can¬ 
not  be  enforced.  By  the  general  course  of 
decision  no  judicial  proceedings  can  be  held 
on  Sunday.  All  legislative  bodies,  whether 
muncipal,  state  or  national,  abstain  from 
work  on  that  day.  Indeed,  the  vast  volume 
of  official  action,  legislative  and  judicial, 
recognizes  Sunday  as  a  day  separate  and 
apart  from  the  others,  a  day  devoted  not  to 
the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life.  It  is  true  in 
many  of  the  decisions  this  separation  of  the 

29 


day  is  said  to  be  authorized  by  the  police 
power  of  the  State  and  exercised  for  pur¬ 
poses  of  health.  At  the  same  time,  through 
a  large  majority  of  them,  there  runs  the 
thought  of  its  being  a  religious  day,  con¬ 
secrated  by  the  Commandment,  “Six  days 
shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work : 
but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord  thy  God :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any 
work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter, 
thy  man  servant,  nor  thy  maid  servant,  nor 
thy  cattle,  nor  the  stranger  that  is  within 
thy  gates.” 

While  the  word  “God”  is  not  infrequently 
used  both  in  the  singular  and  plural  to  de¬ 
note  any  supreme  being  or  beings,  yet  when 
used  alone  and  in  the  singular  number  it 
generally  refers  to  that  Supreme  Being 
spoken  of  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
and  worshiped  by  Jew  and  Christian.  In 
that  sense  the  word  is  used  in  constitution, 
statute  and  instrument.  In  many  State  Con¬ 
stitutions  we  find  in  the  preamble  a  declara¬ 
tion  like  this :  “Grateful  to  Almighty  God.” 
In  some  he  who  denied  the  being  of  God  was 
disqualified  from  holding  office.  It  is  again 
and  again  declared  in  constitution  and 
statute  that  official  oaths  shall  close  with  an 
appeal,  “So  help  me,  God.”  When,  upon 
inauguration,  the  President-elect  each  four 
30 


years  consecrates  himself  to  the  great  respon¬ 
sibilities  of  Chief  Executive  of  the  republic, 
his  vow  of  consecration  in  the  presence  of  the 
vast  throng  filling  the  Capitol  grounds  will 
end  with  the  solemn  words,  “So  help  me, 
God/’  In  all  our  courts  witnesses  in  like 
manner  vouch  for  the  truthfulness  of  their 
testimony.  The  common  commencement  of 
wills  is  “In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.”  Every 
foreigner  attests  his  renunciation  of  allegi¬ 
ance  to  his  former  sovereign  and  his  accep¬ 
tance  of  citizenship  in  this  republic  by  an 
appeal  to  God. 

These  various  declarations  in  charters,  con¬ 
stitutions  and  statutes  indicate  the  general 
thought  and  purpose.  If  it  be  said  that  sim¬ 
ilar  declarations  are  not  found  in  all  the 
charters  or  in  all  the  constitutions,  it  will  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  omission  oftentimes 
was  because  they  were  deemed  unnecessary, 
as  shown  by  the  quotation  just  made  from 
the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louis¬ 
iana,  as  well  as  those  hereafter  taken  from 
the  opinions  of  other  courts.  And  further, 
it  is  of  still  more  significance  that  there 
are  no  contrary  declarations.  In  no  char¬ 
ter  or  constitution  is  there  anything  to  even 
suggest  that  any  other  than  the  Cln  istian 
is  the  religion  of  his  country.  In  none  of 
them  is  Mohammed  or  Confucius  or  Buddha 


iii  any  manner  noticed.  In  none  of  them 
is  Judaism  recognized  other  than  by  way 
of  toleration  of  its  special  creed.  While 
the  separation  of  church  and  state  is  often 
affirmed,  there  is  nowhere  a  repudiation  of 
Christianity  as  one  of  the  institutions  as  well 
as  benedictions  of  society.  In  short,  there  is 
no  charter  or  constitution  that  is  either  infi¬ 
del,  agnostic  or  anti-Christian.  Wherever 
there  is  a  declaration  in  favor  of  any  religion 
it  is  of  the  Christian.  In  view  of  the  multi¬ 
tude  of  expressions  in  its  favor,  the  avowed 
separation  between  church  and  state  is  a 
most  satisfactory  testimonial  that  it  is  the  re¬ 
ligion  of  this  country,  for  a  peculiar  thought 
of  Christianity  is  of  a  personal  relation  be¬ 
tween  man  and  his  Maker,  uncontrolled  by 
and  independent  of  human  government. 

Notice  also  the  matter  of  chaplains.  These 
are  appointed  for  the  army  and  navy,  named 
as  officials  of  legislative  assemblies,  and  uni¬ 
versally  they  belong  to  one  or  other  of  the 
Christian  denominations.  Their  whole  range 
of  service,  whether  in  prayer  or  preaching, 
is  an  official  recognition  of  Christianity.  If 
it  be  not  so,  why  do  we  have  chaplains? 

If  we  consult  the  decisions  of  the  courts, 
although  the  formal  question  has  seldom 
been  presented  because  of  a  general  recogni¬ 
tion  of  its  truth,  yet  in  The  People  vs.  Rug- 
32 


gles,  8  John.  290,  294,  295,  Chancellor  Kent, 
the  great  commentator  on  American  law, 
speaking  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  York,  said :  “The  people  of 
this  State,  in  common  with  the  people  of  this 
country,  profess  the  general  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  as  the  rule  of  their  faith  and 
practice.”  And  in  the  famous  case  of  Vidal 
vs.  Girard’s  Executors,  2  How.  127,  198,  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  while 
sustaining  the  will  of  Mr.  Girard,  with  its 
provision  for  the  creation  of  a  college  into 
which  no  minister  should  be  permitted  to 
enter,  observed :  “It  is  also  said,  and  truly, 
that  the  Christian  religion  is  a  part  of  the 
common  law  of  Pennsylvania.” 

The  New  York  Supreme  Court,  in  Lin- 
denmuller  vs.  The  People,  33  Barbour,  561, 
held  that: 

“Christianity  is  not  the  legal  religion  of 
the  State,  as  established  by  law.  If  it  were, 
it  would  be  a  civil  or  political  institution, 
which  it  is  not;  but  this  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  idea  that  it  is  in  fact,  and  ever  has 
been,  the  religion  of  the  people.  This  fact 
is  everywhere  prominent  in  all  our  civil  and 
political  history,  and  has  been,  from  the  first, 
recognized  and  acted  upon  by  the  people,  as 
well  as  by  constitutional  conventions,  by  leg¬ 
islatures  and  by  courts  of  justice.” 

3  33 


The  South  Carolina  Supreme  Court,  in 
State  vs.  Chandler,  2  Harrington,  555,  cit¬ 
ing  many  cases,  said  : 

“It  appears  to  have  been  long  perfectly 
settled  by  the  common  law  that  blasphemy 
against  the  Deity  in  general,  or  a  malicious 
and  wanton  attack  against  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion  individually,  for  the  purpose  of  ex¬ 
posing  its  doctrines  to  contempt  and  ridicule, 
is  indictable  and  punishable  as  a  temporal 
offense.” 

And  again,  in  City  Council  vs.  Benjamin, 
2  Strobhart,  521 : 

“On  that  day  we  rest,  and  to  us  it  is  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord— its  decent  observance 
in  a  Christian  community  is  that  which 

ought  to  be  expected. 

“It  is  not  perhaps  necessary  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  this  case  to  rule  and  hold  that  the 
Christian  religion  is  part  of  the  common  law 
of  South  Carolina.  Still  it  may  be  useful  to 
show  that  it  lies  at  the  foundation  of  even 
the  article  of  the  Constitution  under  consid¬ 
eration,  and  that  upon  it  rest  many  of  the 
principles  and  usages,  constantly  acknowl¬ 
edged  and  enforced,  in  the  courts  of  justice. 

The  Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court,  in  Up- 
degraph  vs.  The  Commonwealth,  1 1  Ser¬ 
geant  and  Rawle,  400,  made  this  declara¬ 
tion  : 


34 


“Christianity,  general  Christianity,  is,  and 
always  has  been,  a  part  of  the  common  law 
of  Pennsylvania;  Christianity,  without  the 
spiritual  artillery  of  European  countries ;  for 
this  Christianity  was  one  of  the  considera¬ 
tions  of  the  royal  charter,  and  the  very  basis 
of  its  great  founder,  William  Penn;  not 
Christianity  founded  on  any  particular  re¬ 
ligious  tenets ;  not  Christianity  with  an  es¬ 
tablished  church,  and  tithes,  and  spiritual 
courts;  but  Christianity  with  liberty  of  con¬ 
science  to  all  men.,, 

And  subsequently,  in  Johnson  vs.  The 
Commonwealth,  io  Harris,  in. 

“It  is  not  our  business  to  discuss  the  obli¬ 
gations  of  Sunday  any  further  than  they 
enter  into  and  are  recognized  by  the  law  of 
the  land.  The  common  law  adopted  it, 
along  with  Christianity,  of  which  it  is  one 
of  the  bulwarks.” 

In  Arkansas,  Shover  vs.  The  State,  io 
English,  263,  the  Supreme  Court  said : 

“Sunday  or  the  Sabbath  is  properly  and 
emphatically  called  the  Lord’s  Day,  and  is 
one  amongst  the  first  and  most  sacred  institu¬ 
tions  of  the  Christian  religion.  This  system 
of  religion  is  recognized  as  constituting  a 
part  and  parcel  of  the  common  law,  and  as 
such  all  of  the  institutions  growing  out  of  it, 
or,  in  any  way,  connected  with  it,  in  case 

35 


they  shall  not  be  found  to  interfere  with  the 
rights  of  conscience,  are  entitled  to  the  most 
profound  respect,  and  can  rightfully  claim 
the  protection  of  the  law-making  power  of 
the  State.” 

The  Supreme  Court  of  Maryland,  in  Jude- 
find  vs.  The  State,  78  Maryland,  514,  de¬ 
clared  : 

“The  Sabbath  is  emphatically  the  day  of 
rest,  and  the  day  of  rest  here  is  the  Lord’s 
Day  or  Christian’s  Sunday.  Ours  is  a  Chris¬ 
tian  community,  and  a  day  set  apart  as  the 
day  of  rest  is  the  day  consecrated  by  the 
resurrection  of  our  Saviour,  and  embraces 
the  twenty-four  hours  next  ensuing  the  mid¬ 
night  of  Saturday.  .  .  .  But  it  would 

scarcely  be  asked  of  a  court,  in  what  pro¬ 
fesses  to  be  a  Christian  land,  to  declare  a 
law  unconstitutional  because  it  requires  rest 
from  bodily  labor  on  Sunday  (except  works 
of  necessity  and  charity)  and  thereby  pro¬ 
motes  the  cause  of  Christianity.” 

If  now  we  pass  from  the  domain  of  official 
action  and  recognition  to  that  of  individual 
acceptance  we  enter  a  field  of  boundless  ex¬ 
tent,  and  Lean  only  point  out  a  few  of  the 
prominent  facts : 

Notice  our  educational  institutions.  I 
have  already  called  your  attention  to  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  charters  of  the  first  three  col- 

36 


leges.  Think  of  the  vast  number  of  acad¬ 
emies,  colleges  and  universities  scattered 
through  the  land.  Some  of  them,  it  is  true, 
are  under  secular  control,  but  there  is  yet  to 
be  established  in  this  country  one  of  those 
institutions  founded  on  the  religions  of  Con¬ 
fucius,  Buddha  or  Mohammed,  while  an 
overwhelming  majority  are  under  the  special 
direction  and  control  of  Christian  teachers. 

Notice  also  the  avowed  and  pronounced 
Christian  forces  of  the  country,  and  here  I 
must  refer  to  the  census  of  1890,  for  the 
statistics  of  the  census  of  1900  in  these 
matters  have  not  been  compled :  The  popu¬ 
lation  was  62,622, 000.  There  were  165,000 
Christian  church  organizations,  owning 
142,000  buildings,  in  which  were  sittings  for 
40,625,000  people.  The  communicants  in 
these  churches  numbered  20,476,000,  and  the 
value  of  the  church  property  amounted  to 
$669,876,000.  In  other  words,  about  one- 
third  of  the  entire  population  were  directly 
connected  with  Christian  organizations. 
Nearly  two-thirds  would  find  seats  in  our 
churches.  If  to  the  members  we  add  the  chil¬ 
dren  and  others  in  their  families  more  or  less 
connected  with  them,  it  is  obvious  that  a 
large  majority  were  attached  to  the  various 
church  organizations.  I  am  aware  that  the 
relationship  between  many  members  and 

37 


their  churches  is  formal,  and  that  church  re¬ 
lations  do  not  constitute  active  and  para¬ 
mount  forces  in  their  lives,  and  yet  it  is  clear 
that  there  is  an  identification  of  the  great 
mass  of  American  citizens  with  the  Christian 
church.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there 
is  no  little  complaint  of  the  falling  off  in 
church  attendance,  and  of  a  lukewarmness 
on  the  part  of  many,  and  on  the  other  hand 
there  is  a  diversion  of  religious  force  along 
the  lines  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As¬ 
sociation,  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
and  the  Epworth  League.  All  these,  of 
course,  are  matters  to  be  noticed,  but  they  do 
not  avoid  the  fact  of  a  formal  adhesion  of 
the  great  majority  of  our  people  to  the 
Christian  faith;  and  while  creeds  and  dog¬ 
mas  and  denominations  are  in  a  certain  sense 
losing  their  power,  and  certainly  their  an¬ 
tagonisms,  yet  as  a  vital  force  in  the  land, 
Christianity  is  still  the  mighty  factor.  Con¬ 
nected  with  the  denominations  are  large  mis¬ 
sionary  bodies  constantly  busy  in  extend¬ 
ing  Christian  faith  through  this  nation  and 
through  the  world.  No  other  religious  or¬ 
ganization  has  anything  of  a  foothold  or  is 
engaged  in  active  work  unless  it  be  upon  so 
small  a  scale  as  scarcely  to  be  noticed  in  the 
great  volume  of  American  life. 

Again,  the  Bible  is  the  Christian’s  book. 

38 


No  other  book  has  so  wide  a  circulation,  or 
is  so  universally  found  in  the  households  of 
the  land.  During  their  century  of  exist¬ 
ence  the  English  and  American  Bible  Socie¬ 
ties  have  published  and  circulated  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  million  copies,  and  this  repre¬ 
sents  but  a  fraction  of  its  circulation.  And 
then  think  of  the  multitude  of  volumes 
published  in  exposition,  explanation  and  il¬ 
lustration  of  that  book,  or  some  portion 
of  it. 

You  will  have  noticed  that  I  have  presented 
no  doubtful  facts.  Nothing  has  been  stated 
which  is  debatable.  The  quotations  from 
charters  are  in  the  archives  of  the  several 
States;  the  laws  are  on  the  statute  books; 
judicial  opinions  are  taken  from  the  official 
reports ;  statistics  from  the  census  publica¬ 
tions.  In  short,  no  evidence  has  been  pre¬ 
sented  which  is  open  to  question. 

I  could  easily  enter  upon  another  line  of 
examination.  I  could  point  out  the  general 
trend  of  public  opinion,  the  disclosures  of 
purposes  and  beliefs  to  be  found  in  letters, 
papers,  books  and  unofficial  declarations.  I 
could  show  how  largely  our  laws  and  cus¬ 
toms  are  based  upon  the  laws  of  Moses  and 
the  teachings  of  Christ ;  how  constantly  the 
Bible  is  appealed  to  as  the  guide  of  life  and 
the  authority  in  questions  of  morals ;  how  the 

39 


Christian  doctrines  are  accepted  as  the  great 
comfort  in  times  of  sorrow  and  affliction, 
and  fill  with  the  light  of  hope  the  services  for 
the  dead.  On  every  hilltop  towers  the  steeple 
of  some  Christian  church,  while  from  the 
marble  witnesses  in  God’s  acre  comes  the 
universal  but  silent  testimony  to  the  com¬ 
mon  faith  in  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  and  the  life  hereafter. 

But  I  must  not  weary  you.  I  could  go  on 
indefinitely,  pointing  out  further  illustra¬ 
tions  both  official  and  non-official,  public  and 
private;  such  as  the  annual  Thanksgiving 
proclamations,  with  their  following  days  of 
worship  and  feasting;  announcements  of 
days  of  fasting  and  prayer;  the  universal 
celebration  of  Christmas ;  the  gathering  of 
millions  of  our  children  in  Sunday  Schools, 
and  the  countless  volumes  of  Christian  liter¬ 
ature,  both  prose  and  poetry.  But  I  have 
said  enough  to  show  that  Christianity  came 
to  this  country  with  the  first  colonists;  has 
been  powerfully  identified  with  its  rapid  de¬ 
velopment,  colonial  and  national,  and  to-day 
exists  as  a  mighty  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
republic.  This  is  a  Christian  nation,  and  we 
can  all  rejoice  as  truthfully  we  repeat  the 
words  of  Leonard  Bacon  : 

“O  God,  beneath  thy  guiding  hand 

Our  exiled  fathers  crossed  the  sea, 

40 


And  when  they  trod  the  wintry  strand, 

With  prayer  and  psalm  they  worshiped 
Thee. 

“Thou  heardst,  well  pleased,  the  song,  the 
prayer — 

Thy  blessing  came ;  and  still  its  power 
Shall  onward  through  all  ages  bear 
The  memory  of  that  holy  hour. 

“Laws,  freedom,  truth,  and  faith  in  God 
Came  with  those  exiles  o’er  the  waves, 
And  where  their  pilgrim  feet  have  trod, 
The  God  they  trusted  guards  their  graves. 

“And  here  Thy  name,  O  God  of  love, 

Their  children’s  children  shall  adore, 

Till  these  eternal  hills  remove, 

And  spring  adorns  the  earth  no  more.” 


41 


II.  OUR  DUTY  AS  CITIZENS 


/ 


OUR  DUTY  AS  CITIZENS 


CONSIDERED  last  night  the 
proposition  that  the  United 
States  of  America  is  a  Chris¬ 
tian  nation.  I  pointed  out  that 
Christianity  was  a  primary 
cause  of  the  first  settlement  on 
our  shores;  that  the  organic  instruments, 
charters  and  constitutions  of  the  colonies 
were  filled  with  abundant  recognitions  of 
it  as  a  controlling  factor  in  the  life  of 
the  people ;  that  in  one  at  least  of  them 
it  was  in  terms  declared  the  established 
religion,  while  in  several  the  furthering 
of  Christianity  was  stated  to  be  one  of 
the  purposes  of  the  government;  in  many 
faith  in  it  was  a  condition  of  holding  office; 
in  some,  authority  was  given  to  the  legisla¬ 
ture  to  make  its  support  a  public  charge ;  in 
nearly  all  the  constitutions  there  has  been 
an  express  recognition  of  the  sanctity  of  the 
Christian  Sunday;  the  God  of  the  Bible  is 
appealed  to  again  and  again.  Sunday  laws 

45 


have  been  enacted  and  enforced  in  most  of 
the  colonies  and  States.  About  one-third  of 
the  population  are  avowedly  Christian  and 
communicants  in  some  Christian  organiza¬ 
tion;  there  are  sitting  accommodations  in 
the  churches  for  nearly  two-thirds;  educa¬ 
tional  institutions  are  largely  under  the  con¬ 
trol  of  Christian  denominations,  and  even  in 
those  which,  in  obedience  to  the  rule  of  sep¬ 
aration  between  church  and  state,  are  secular 
in  their  organization,  the  principles  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  are  uniformly  recognized.  By  these 
and  other  evidences  I  claim  to  have 
shown  that  the  calling  of  this  republic  a 
Christian  nation  is  not  a  mere  pretence  but 
a  recognition  of  an  historical,  legal  and 
social  truth. 

I  come  this  evening  to  consider  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  this  fact  and  the  duties  it  imposes 
upon  all  our  citizens. 

And  first  let  it  be  noticed  that  there  is  no 
incompatibility  between  Christianity  and 
patriotism.  The  declaration  of  the  Master, 
“Render  therefore  unto  Caesar,  the  things 
which  are  Caesar’s ;  and  unto  God,  the  things 
that  are  God’s,”  is  not  a  declaration  of  an¬ 
tagonism  between  the  two,  but  an  affirma¬ 
tion  of  duty  to  each.  Indeed,  devotion  to 
one  generally  goes  hand  in  hand  with  loyalty 
to  the  other.  When  Havelock,  the  hero  of 
46 


Lucknow,  died,  most  appropriate  were  the 
words  of  the  English  poet : 

“Strew  not  on  the  hero’s  hearse 
Garlands  of  a  herald’s  verse: 

Let  us  hear  no  words  of  Fame 
Sounding  loud  a  deathless  name : 

Tell  us  of  no  vauntful  Glory 
Shouting  forth  her  haughty  story. 

All  life  long  his  homage  rose 
To  far  other  shrine  than  those. 

‘In  hoc  signo,’  pale  nor  dim, 

Lit  the  battlefield  for  him, 

And  the  prize  he  sought  and  won, 
Was  the  crown  for  duty  done.” 

But  we  need  not  go  elsewhere.  In  our 
own  land,  from  the  very  first,  Christianity 
and  patriotism  have  worked  together.  When 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  touched  New  England  s 
shores  their  first  service  was  one  of  thanks¬ 
giving  and  praise  to  that  Infinite  One  who 
had,  as  they  believed,  guided  them  to  their 
new  home.  In  the  long  struggles  of  the 
early  colonists  with  their  Indian  foes,  the 
building  on  the  hill  was  both  church  and 
fort.  They  fell  on  their  knees  and  then  on 
the  aboriginees,  was  the  old  satire,  to  which 
now  is  added,  they  fall  on  the  Chinese.  In 

47 


the  convention  that  framed  the  Constitution, 
when  doubt  and  uncertainty  hovered  over 
the  result,  at  Franklin’s  instance  prayer  was 
offered  for  the  success  of  their  efforts.  In 
the  dark  days  at  Valley  Forge  the  great 
leader  sought  strength  and  inspiration  in 
prayer.  When  the  nation  stood  aghast  at 
the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the 
clarion  voice  of  Garfield  rang  out  above  the 
darkness  and  the  tumult,  “God  reigns,  and 
the  government  at  Washington  still  lives.” 
And  so  I  might  go  on  with  illustration  after 
illustration  showing  how  the  faith  of  the 
Christian  has  stood  in  times  of  trial  and 
trouble  as  the  rock  upon  which  the  nation 
has  rested. 

Again,  Christianity  is  entitled  to  the  trib¬ 
ute  of  respect.  I  do  not  of  course  mean  that 
all  individuals,  nominally  Christian,  deserve 
trust,  confidence,  or  even  respect,  for  the 
contrary  is  too  often  the  case.  Too  often 
men  hold  religion  as  they  do  property,  in 
their  wives’  names.  Nor  is  Christianity  be¬ 
yond  the  reach  of  criticism  and  opposition. 
It  is  not  lifted  up  as  something  too  sacred  to 
be  spoken  of  save  in  terms  and  tones  of 
reverence.  This  is  an  iconoclastic  and  scien¬ 
tific  age.  We  are  destroying  many  beliefs 
and  traditions.  William  Tell  is  a  myth.  The 
long  hairs  of  Pocahontas  never  dropped  in 

48 


protecting  folds  over  the  body  of  John 
Smith.  The  Arabs  never  destroyed  the  great 
library  at  Alexandria,  though  if  some  wan¬ 
dering  Arabs  would  destroy  all  the  law  books 
in  the  land  they  would  bless  the  courts  and 
help  the  cause  of  justice.  We  challenge  the 
truthfulness  of  every  assertion  of  fact,  every 
demand  upon  our  faith  and  confidence;  and 
Christianity  must  stand  like  all  other  insti¬ 
tutions,  to  be  challenged,  criticised,  weighed 
and  its  merits  and  demerits  determined.  The 
time  has  passed  in  the  history  of  the  world 
when  anything  is  too  sacred  to  be  touched, 
when  anything  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
inquiring  and  scientific  spear.  But  while 
conceding  all  this  I  insist  that  Christianity 
has  been  so  wrought  into  the  history  of  this 
republic,  so  identified  with  its  growth  and 
prosperity,  has  been  and  is  so  dear  to  the 
hearts  of  the  great  body  of  our  citizens,  that 
it  ought  not  to  be  spoken  of  contemptuously 
or  treated  with  ridicule.  Religion  of  any 
form  is  a  sacred  matter.  It  involves  the  re¬ 
lation  of  the  individual  to  some  Being  be¬ 
lieved  to  be  infinitely  supreme.  It  involves 
not  merely  character  and  life  here,  but  des¬ 
tiny  hereafter,  and  as  such  is  not  to  be 
spoken  of  lightly  or  flippantly.  And  we  who 
are  citizens  of  this  republic — recognizing  the 
identification  of  Christianity  with  its  life, 

49 


4 


the  general  belief  that  Christianity  is  the 
best  of  all  religions,  that  it  passed  into  the 
lives  of  our  fathers  and  is  taken  into  the  lives 
of  our  brethren  as  something  of  sacred 
power — ought,  even  if  not  agreeing  with  all 
that  is  claimed  for  it,  to  at  least  accord  to 
it  respect. 

I  once  listened  to  a  conversation  which 
illustrates  my  thought.  It  was  between  two 
young  men  returning  after  the  close  of  a 
summer’s  vacation  to  the  college  at  which 
both  were  students.  The  principal  talker 
was,  as  I  discovered  in  the  course  of  the 
afternoon,  an  only  son.  On  his  upper  lip 
was  the  first  dark  shadow  of  a  coming  mus¬ 
tache.  He  possessed  that  peculiar  wisdom 
which  belongs  in  this  world  to  only  the  col¬ 
lege  sophomore.  He  was  expressing  to  his 
companion  his  views  on  the  Bible  and  relig¬ 
ion,  said  he  knew  too  much  to  believe  in 
either;  admitted  that  his  mother  believed  in 
both  and  read  her  Bible  every  day ;  said  that 
that  might  do  for  women  and  children,  but 
not  for  any  intelligent  man  in  the  light  of 
present  scientific  knowledge.  You  would 
have  thought  that  Darwin  and  Huxley  and 
Lord  Kelvin  had  studied  at  his  feet  and  that 
he  was  the  Gamaliel  of  the  present  day.  It 
is  impossible  to  reproduce  in  language  the 
self-sufficient  sneering  tone  in  which  he 
50 


spoke  of  the  Bible,  classing  it  with  nursery 
rhymes,  the  story  of  Jack  and  the  Beanstalk 
and  the  like,  and  the  complacent  pity  with 
which  he  referred  to  those  who  were  foolish 
enough  to  regard  it  as  a  sacred  book.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  budding  sophomore 
lived  long  enough  to  learn  that  no  gentleman 
speaks  sneeringly  of  that  which  has  been  the 
life-long  faith  and  comfort  of  his  mother. 

From  the  standpoint  of  citizenship  the 
treatment  of  Christianity  may  be  regarded 
as  in  some  respects  similar  to  that  which  is 
accorded  and  is  due  to  the  national  flag. 
Who  looks  upon  that  as  a  mere  piece  of 
cloth  costing  but  a  trifle,  something  to  be  de¬ 
rided  or  trampled  upon  at  will?  A  particu¬ 
lar  banner  may  not  have  cost  much.  It  may 
be  cheap  to  him  who  sees  only  the  mate¬ 
rial  and  work  which  have  passed  into  it, 
but  to  every  patriot  it  is  the  symbol  of 
patriotism.  Its  history  is  a  record  of  glory. 
A  century  ago  the  Barbary  pirates,  who  had 
defied  the  flags  of  Europe,  saw  it  waving 
over  Decatur’s  vessels  and  bowed  in  submis¬ 
sion.  Commodore  Perry  sailed  beneath  it 
into  the  unknown  harbors  of  Japan,  opened 
that  nation  to  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
to-day  her  civilization  and  power  command 
universal  respect  and  admiration.  The  op¬ 
pressed  Cuban  appealed  to  it  for  deliverance, 

5i 


and  in  response  thereto  Manila  and  Santiago 
de  Cuba  introduced  a  new  sister  into  the 
family  of  nations. 

“Wherever  man  has  dared  to  go, 

’Mid  tropic  heat  or  polar  snow, 

On  sandy  plain  or  lofty  crag, 

Has  waved  our  country’s  starry  flag. 

In  that  far  North  where  ceaseless  cold 
Has  built  its  alabaster  hold, 

And  where  the  sun  disdains  to  show 
His  brightness  on  unbroken  snow, 
Where  icy  pillars  tower  to  heaven 
Pale  sentinels  to  nature  given, 

To  watch  the  only  spot  she  can 
Withhold  from  grasping  hand  of  man, 
There  Kane  unfurled  this  banner  bright, 
Resplendent  with  auroral  light.” 

To-day  it  waves  at  the  masthead  of  Amer¬ 
ican  vessels  in  every  water  of  the  globe,  and 
commands  the  world’s  respect.  An  insult 
to  it  every  citizen  feels  is  an  insult  to  him¬ 
self,  and  all  insist  that  it  shall  be  accorded 
due  respect.  W e  remember  how,  in  the  early 
days  of  our  great  civil  struggle,  the  loyal 
heart  was  stirred  with  the  thrilling  words  of 
Secretary  Dix,  “If  any  man  attempts  to  haul 
down  the  American  flag,  shoot  him  on  the 
spot.”  We  honor  Stonewall  Jackson,  who, 
52 


seeing  Barbara  Frietchie  waving  this  ban¬ 
ner  from  the  window  of  her  home  in  Fred¬ 
erick,  and  the  threatening  guns  of  his  sol¬ 
diers,  called  out : 

“  ‘Who  touches  a  hair  of  yon  gray  head 
Dies  like  a  dog.  March  on;’  he  said.” 

We  rejoice  that  now  it  floats  in  peace  and 
triumph  over  all  our  fair  land.  We  love  to 
watch  its  fold  swing  out  to  the  breeze  on 
every  patriotic  day,  to  see  it  decorate  the 
walls  where  gather  our  great  conventions. 
We  glory  in  every  tribute  that  is  paid  to  it 
in  any  part  of  the  globe.  It  tells  the  story 
of  conflicts,  of  defeats  and  victories.  It  has 
waved  over  many  a  held  of  battle,  and  the 
blood  of  our  noblest  and  best  has  been  shed 
in  its  defense.  It  is  eloquent  of  all  the  suf¬ 
ferings  and  trials  of  days  gone  by,  of  all  the 
great  achievements  of  the  American  people, 
and  as  we  swing  it  to  the  breeze  we  do  so 
with  undoubting  faith  that  it  will  wave  over 
grander  things  in  the  future  of  this  republic. 

Christianity  has  entered  into  and  become 
part  of  the  life  of  this  republic;  it  came  with 
its  beginnings  and  prompted  them ;  has  been 
identified  with  its  toils  and  trials,  shared  in 
its  victories,  cheered  in  the  hour  of  darkness 
and  gloom,  and  stands  to-day  prophetic  of 

53 


untold  blessings  in  the  future.  And  shall  it 
be  said  that  it  alone  of  all  our  benedictions 
has  forfeited  a  claim  to  receive  from  every 
American  citizen  the  tribute  of  respect? 

Respect  for  Christianity  implies  respect¬ 
ful  treatment  of  its  institutions  and  ordi¬ 
nances.  This  does  not  require  that  every 
one  must  conform  his  life  to  those  institu¬ 
tions  and  ordinances.  That  is  something 
which  each  one  has  a  right  to  settle  for  him¬ 
self.  Take,  for  instance,  the  matter  of 
church  services.  No  one  is  in  duty  bound 
as  a  citizen  to  attend  a  particular  church 
service,  or  indeed  any  church  service.  The 
freedom  of  conscience,  the  liberty  of  the 
individual,  gives  to  every  individual  the 
right  to  attend  or  stay  away.  At  the  same 
time  there  is  an  obligation  not  to  unneces¬ 
sarily  interfere  with  or  disturb  those  serv¬ 
ices.  This  is  something  more  than  the  duty 
which  rests  upon  one  attending  those  serv¬ 
ices  to  avoid  the  ungentlemanly  and  unseemly 
act  of  disturbing  the  exercises.  That  is  only 
a  part  of  the  common  courtesy  of  all  going 
into  a  gathering  assembled  for  any  lawful 
purpose.  They  who  call  the  meeting  and 
who  are  engaged  in  service  of  any  legiti¬ 
mate  character  have  a  right  to  be  free  from 
annoyance  and  interference.  But  beyond 
that  the  citizen  who  does  not  attend,  does 

54 


not  even  share  in  the  belief  of  those  who  do, 
ought  ever  to  bear  in  mind  the  noble  part 
Christianity  has  taken  in  the  history  of  the 
republic,  the  great  share  it  has  had  in  her 
wonderful  development  and  its  contribution 
to  her  present  glory,  and  by  reason  thereof 
take  pains  to  secure  to  those  who  do  believe 
in  it  and  do  attend  its  services  freedom  from 
all  disturbance  of  their  peaceful  gathering. 
The  American  Christian  is  entitled  to  his 
quiet  hour. 

Take  another  illustration, — Sunday.  Its 
separation  from  the  other  days  as  a  day  of 
rest  is  enforced  by  the  legislation  of  nearly 
all  if  not  all  the  States  of  the  Union.  Beyond 
that  it  is  to  the  Christian  a  sacred  day.  It 
does  not  follow  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
individual  to  observe  the  Sabbath  as  Chris¬ 
tians  do.  Indeed,  there  is  no  unanimity  of 
view  among  the  latter  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  it  should  be  observed.  We  have  gone 
far  away  from  the  Puritan  Sabbath  and  the 
austere,  severe  observance  of  it  which  pre¬ 
vailed  in  the  early  days  of  New  England 
colonies,  and  which  made  the  day  a  terror 
to  children  as  well  as  burdensome  to  adults. 
I  believe  it  is  conceded  that  notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  fabled  blue  laws  of  New  England,  a 
man  may  without  impropriety  kiss  his  wife 
on  Sunday  and  possibly  if  he  have  a  chance 

55 


some  other  sweet-faced  woman.  That  old- 
time  terror  has  been  superceded  by  gentler 
and  kindlier  modes  of  observance,  which 
tend  to  make  the  day  welcome  to  all,  both 
young  and  old,  one  in  which  is  not  merely 
rest  from  the  ordinary  toils  of  the 
week,  but  one  in  which  the  companion¬ 
ship  of  friends,  the  sweet  influences  of 
nature,  and  lessons  from  the  higher  forms 
of  music  and  other  arts  are  recognized  as 
among  its  benedictions.  While  the  latter 
modes,  though  very  likely  more  helpful, 
more  really  Christian,  are  a  great  departure 
from  the  former,  yet  it  still  remains  true  that 
it  is  a  day  consecrated  of  old,  a  day  sepa¬ 
rated  by  law  and  religion  as  well  as  by  the 
custom  of  the  church  for  ages,  and  ought 
not  to  be  turned  into  a  day  of  public  frivolity 
and  gayety.  While  it  may  be  true  that  all 
are  not  under  obligations  to  conform  to  the 
higher  and  better  uses  of  the  day,  yet  at  least 
they  owe  that  respect  to  Christianity  to  pur¬ 
sue  their  frivolities  and  gaieties  in  such  a 
way  as  not  to  offend  those  who  believe  in 
its  sacredness.  I  recognize  the  fact  that  it  is 
not  always  easy  to  draw  the  line  and  that 
freedom  implies  not  merely  the  freedom  of 
those  who  would  keep  the  day  sacred,  but 
also  the  freedom  of  those  who  do  not  so  re¬ 
gard  it. 


56 


Again,  it  deserves  the  attention  and  study 
of  every  citizen.  You  are  all  patriots,  you 
love  your  country,  are  proud  of  its  past  and 
mean  to  so  live  and  act  that  you  can  help  it 
to  the  best  possible  future.  Now,  as  I  have 
pointed  out,  Christianity  was  a  principal 
cause  of  the  settlements  on  these  western 
shores.  It  has  been  identified  with  the 
growth  and  development  of  those  settle¬ 
ments  into  the  United  States  of  America, 
has  so  largely  shaped  and  molded  it  that  to¬ 
day  of  all  the  nations  in  the  world  it  is  the 
most  justly  called  a  Christian  nation.  In 
order  to  determine  what  we  ought  to  do  for 
the  future  of  the  republic  we  must  review 
its  history,  inquire  into  the  causes  which 
have  made  its  growth  and  influenced  its 
life,  ascertained  which  have  been  the  most 
controlling  and  which  have  helped  on  the 
better  side  of  its  development,  and  why 
they  have  been  so  influential.  I  have 
shown  that  Christianity  has  been  a  great 
factor,  and  the  student  of  our  history  will 
find  that  it  has  been  a  helpful  and  uplift¬ 
ing  factor.  Making  full  allowance  for  all 
the  imperfections  and  mistakes  which  have 
attended  it,  as  they  attend  all  human  insti¬ 
tutions,  I  am  sure  that  the  student  will  be 
convinced  that  its  general  influence  upon 
our  national  life  has  been  for  the  better. 

57 


It  has  always  stood  for  purity  of  the  home, 
and  who  doubts  that  our  homes  have  been 
the  centers  of  the  holiest  living.  It  is  Mor- 
monism,  Mohammedanism  and  heathenism 
and  not  Christianity  which  have  proclaimed 
polygamy  and  debased  woman  from  the 
sacred  place  of  wife  to  the  lower  level  of 
concubine.  It  is  not  Christianity  which  has 
sustained  the  social  evil.  All  through  our 
history,  colonial  and  national,  the  hope  and 
ambition  of  every  young  man  and  woman 
have  been  for  a  home  of  their  own,  into 
which  one  husband  and  one  wife  shall  enter, 
“and  they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh.”  One  of 
the  sad  features  of  city  life  to-day  is  the 
crowding  into  apartments,  where  the  janitor 
is  master  of  the  house  and  the  independence 
of  the  home  life  is  only  partially  secured. 
The  barracks  around  our  great  manufactur¬ 
ing  establishments  are  freighted  with  equally 
sad  significance.  While  admitting  this  tem¬ 
porary  departure  we  rejoice  that  this  has 
been  pre-eminently  a  land  of  homes,  whether 
in  the  city,  or  village,  or  country.  And  the 
power  which  has  ever  stood  in  the  land  for 
the  purity  of  home  life  has  been  a  crown  of 
glory  to  the  republic. 

It  has  stood  for  business  honesty  and  in¬ 
tegrity.  Its  proclamation  has  been  the 
golden  rule.  Do  unto  others  as  you  would 
58 


they  should  do  unto  you,  is  a  summons 
to  honesty  and  fair  dealing  in  all  business 
as  well  as  other  relations  in  life.  The 
Master  never  suggested  that  ability  to  keep 
outside  the  penitentiary  was  a  sufficient  test 
of  honesty. 

It  has  stood  for  liberty  and  the  rights  of 
man.  In  the  great  revolutionary  struggle 
the  trusted  counselors  of  the  people  were  the 
preachers.  While  they  may  not  be  known 
in  history  as  the  leaders,  were  not  the  law¬ 
yers  to  draft  the  statutes  and  the  constitu¬ 
tion,  nor  the  military  heroes  to  command  the 
armies,  yet  the  local  centers  of  influence 
were  the  Christian  churches,  and  the  Chris¬ 
tian  preachers  were  the  men  who  kept  the 
mass  of  the  people  loyal  to  the  leadership  of 
Washington  and  his  associates.  And  in  the 
later  struggle  for  human  liberty  Christianity 
was  always  on  the  advance  line.  Those  of 
us  who  remember  the  ante-bellum  days  re¬ 
call  the  bitter  flings  that  were  made  against 
preachers  in  politics.  That  was  signifi¬ 
cant  of  the  recognized  truth  that  they  were 
leading  the  great  mass  of  the  loyal  people 
on  in  that  most  wonderful  civil  war  of  all 
the  ages.  That  struggle,  as  every  one 
knows,  commenced  on  the  plains  of  Kansas, 
and  the  New  England  emigrant  crossed 
those  plains,  singing  the  song  of  Whittier : 

59 


“We  go  to  plant  our  common  schools 
On  distant  prairie  swells, 

And  give  the  Sabbaths  of  the  wild 
The  music  of  her  bells. 

“Upbearing  like  the  ark  of  old, 

The  Bible  in  our  van, 

We  go  to  test  the  truth  of  God 
Against  the  fraud  of  man.” 

And  all  during  the  terrible  days  of  the 
great  war,  from  every  Union  camp  and  com¬ 
pany  rolled  up  the  majestic  music  of  the 
battle  hymn  of  the  republic : 

“In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  born 
across  the  sea, 

With  a  glory  in  his  bosom  that  transfigures 
you  and  me : 

As  he  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to 
make  men  free, 

While  God  is  marching  on.” 

It  has  stood  for  education.  I  have  already 
called  your  attention  to  this  matter  in  proof 
of  the  Christian  character  of  the  nation.  It 
may  be  added  that  outside  of  the  institutions 
with  direct  State  support  nearly  every  acad¬ 
emy,  college  and  university  was  founded  by 
and  is  under  the  control  of  some  one  of  the 
60 


several  Christian  denominations.  Indeed,  a 
frequent  criticism  of  many  is  that  they  are 
too  much  under  such  control.  Certain  is  it 
that  they  would  never  have  come  into  being 
but  for  the  denominations  back  of  them. 
Up  to  a  recent  date  the  rule  was  that  the 
presidents  and  an  exceedingly  large  major¬ 
ity  of  the  faculty  of  all  these  institutions 
be  ministers.  It  was  a  national  surprise 
when  first  a  layman  was  elected  a  college 
president.  In  the  common  schools  the  Bible 
has  been  as  much  a  text-book  as  the  New 
England  primer.  It  is  only  within  very  late 
years  that  any  objection  has  been  raised  to 
its  daify  use,  and  that  objection  has  sprung 
as  much  from  differences  between  the  Cath¬ 
olic  and  Protestant  denominations  concern¬ 
ing  the  version  to  be  used  as  from  opposi¬ 
tion  to  the  book  itself. 

It  has  stood  for  the  great  charities  and 
benevolences  of  the  land.  What  single  or¬ 
ganization  has  done  more  for  the  orphan 
than  the  Catholic  Church  ?  What  one, 
through  hospital  and  asylum,  more  for  the 
sick  and  afflicted?  If  you  were  to  select  a 
single  face  and  form  as  the  typical  expres¬ 
sion  of  the  great  thought  of  charity  and 
kindness,  whose  would  you  select  other  than 
the  face  and  form  of  a  Sister  of  Charity? 


61 


“The  Little  Sister  of  the  Poor. 

“Amid  the  city’s  dust  and  din 
Your  patient  feet  have  trod; 
Wherever  sorrow  is  or  sin 
You  do  the  work  of  God. 

“You  seem  in  many  a  shadowed  place 
A  glory  from  above, 

The  peace  of  heaven  is  in  your  face, 
And  in  your  heart  is  love. 

“Your  brow  is  lined  with  other’s  cares, 
And  aches  for  others’  needs ; 

You  bless  the  dying  with  your  prayers, 
The  living  with  your  deeds. 

“You  sow  the  wayside  hope  that  lives 
Where  else  were  only  death ; 

Your  love  is  like  the  rain  that  gives 
Heaven’s  secret  to  the  earth. 

“The  pitying  thoughts  that  fill  your  eyes, 
And  rob  your  years  of  rest, 

That  lead  you  still  where  misery  sighs 
And  life  is  ah  unblest, 

“Are  as  the  tears  that  angels  shed 
O’er  darkened  lives  forlorn — 

Stars  in  the  gloom  till  night  has  fled, 
And  dew  on  earth  at  morn.” 

62 


In  times  when  epidemics  rage,  when  death 
seems  to  haunt  every  city  home,  who  are  the 
devoted  ones  to  risk  their  lives  in  caring  for 
the  sick  and  paying  the  last  offices  to  the 
dead?  Surely  as  the  vision  of  this  rises  in 
your  mind  you  see  the  presence  and  form 
of  those  whose  faith  is  in  the  Man  of  Galilee. 

It  has  stood  for  peace.  I  need  not  content 
myself  by  referring  to  that  Christian  denom¬ 
ination,  one  of  whose  distinguishing  tenets 
is  unqualified  opposition  to  all  wars.  I  can 
with  safety  point  to  the  great  body  of  those 
who  in  days  gone  by  have  been  the  cham¬ 
pions  of  the  cause  of  peace ;  to  the  memorials 
which  have  been  presented  to  the  two  Houses 
of  Congress  in  favor  of  arbitration ;  to  those 
who  are  at  the  head  of  the  various  peace 
societies,  and  who  are  always  found  upon 
the  platforms  at  their  gatherings,  and  whose 
voices  are  most  constant  and  potent  in  its 
behalf.  Indeed,  strike  from  the  history  of 
this  country  all  that  the  Christian  Church 
has  done  in  the  interest  and  to  further  the 
cause  of  peace  and  there  is  not  as  much  life 
left  as  was  found  in  the  barren  fig  tree. 

It  has  stood  for  temperance.  Not  that  it 
has  stood  alone,  but  it  has  been  a  leader. 
The  foremost  advocates  of  the  cause  have 
been  pronounced  Christians.  Frances  Wil¬ 
lard  was  president  of  the  Woman’s  Chris- 

63 


tian  Temperance  Union,  not  of  the  Woman’s 
Mohammedan  Temperance  Union,  and  the 
White  Ribboners  are  not  disciples  of  Con¬ 
fucius  or  Buddha.  The  churches  have  been 
the  places  of  the  great  gatherings  of  the 
friends  of  temperance.  Indeed,  when  you 

survey  the  efforts  made  to  further  that  cause 
* 

you  will  find  that  running  through  them  all 
Christianity  has  been  distinctively  present. 

In  short,  it  has  sought  to  write  into  the 
history  of  this  nation  the  glowing  words  of 
the  apostle: 

“Love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentle¬ 
ness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance; 
against  such  there  is  no  law.” 

It  has  stood  for  all  these  things  because 
they  represent  its  thought  and  purpose.  So 
he  who  studies  the  history  of  the  country, 
finding  this  to  be  the  lesson  of  its  influence 
upon  our  history,  can  but  be  led  to  the  con¬ 
clusion  not  merely  that  it  has  been  a  potent 
factor  in  the  life  of  the  nation,  but  also  that 
it  has  been  a  healthful  and  helpful  factor. 
When  one  who  loves  his  country  realizes 
this  fact,  does  there  not  open  before  him 
a  clear  vision  of  his  duty  to  further  its  influ¬ 
ence.  If  in  the  past  it  has  done  so  much 
and  so  well  for  the  country  is  there  any 
reason  to  doubt  that  strengthened  and  ex¬ 
tended  it  will  continue  the  same  healthful 
64 


and  helpful  influence?  It  has  been  often 
said  that  Christian  nations  are  the  civilized 
nations,  and  as  often  that  the  most  thor¬ 
oughly  Christian  are  the  most  highly  civil¬ 
ized.  Is  this  a  mere  coincidence?  Study 
well  the  history  of  Christianity  in  its  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  nation  and  it  will  be  found  that 
it  is  something  more  than  a  mere  coinci¬ 
dence,  that  there  is  between  the  two  the 
relation  of  cause  and  effect,  and  that  the 
more  thoroughly  the  principles  of  Christian¬ 
ity  reach  into  and  influence  the  life  of  the 
nation  the  more  certainly  will  that  nation 
advance  in  civilization.  At  least  it  is  the 
duty  of  every  patriot,  finding  that  it  has  been 
such  a  factor  in  our  life,  to  inquire  whether 
it  does  stand  to  its  civilization  in  the  rela¬ 
tion  of  cause  and  effect,  and  it  would  be  in 
the  highest  degree  unphilosophical  to  assume 
that  there  has  been  only  a  coincidence,  and 
therefore  that  its  presence  in  the  nation  is  a 
matter  of  indifference. 

If  found  that  it  has  been  both  a  potent 
and  helpful  factor  in  the  development  of  our 
a  helpful  factor  in  the  development  of  our 
civilization,  then  it  is  a  patriot's  duty  to  up¬ 
hold  it  and  extend  its  influence.  This  is  in 
line  with  the  general  obligation  which  rests 
upon  all  to  help  everything  which  tends  to 
the  bettering  of  the  life  of  the  republic. 

65 


5 


Who  does  not  recognize  that  obligation  in 
other  directions? 

To-day  a  prevalent  belief  is  that  in  order 
to  maintain  our  position  in  the  world,  a  posi¬ 
tion  which  has  rapidly  changed  from  one  of 
isolation  to  that  of  intimate  relation  with  all 
nations,  we  ought  to  pay  larger  attention  to 
our  navy.  If  that  belief  is  well  founded,  if 
it  be  true  that  a  larger  and  more  efficient 
navy  is  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  our 
position  in  the  world,  then  who  will  question 
the  duty  of  every  citizen?  May  we  antag¬ 
onize  that  which  the  nation’s  interests  de¬ 
mand?  Shall  we  through  selfishness  or  in¬ 
difference  permit  that  which  means  the  well¬ 
being  and  glory  of  the  nation  to  become 
weak  or  to  fail  altogether?  Who  hesitates 
about  the  answer  to  such  a  question?  So 
with  our  commerce.  Is  it  not  praiseworthy 
effort  on  the  part  of  each  and  all  to  enlarge 
that  commerce  and  thus  to  add  to  the  pros¬ 
perity  which  attends  a  successful  world  com¬ 
merce  ? 

Or  to  come  closer  to  those  things  which 
touch  the  social  and  moral  well-being  of  the 
nation,  who  doubts  a  patriot’s  duty  to  fur¬ 
ther  the  cause  of  education  ?  Who  questions 
that  the  best  interests  of  the  republic  are 
prompted  by  extending  education  to  all  ? 
And  can  any  one,  doing  justice  to  himself, 
66 


and  without  violating  his  duty  to  the  repub¬ 
lic,  plead  that  he  is  wholly  indifferent  to  the 
matter?  Take  another  illustration — civil 
service  reform.  I  shall  not  enter  into  any 
argument  in  its  favor.  I  assume  that  the 
principle  of  it  commends  itself  to  the 
thoughtful  as  something  which,  wisely  ad¬ 
ministered,  will  eliminate  much  of  the  pitiful 
scramble  for  office  and  secure  a  better  ad¬ 
ministration  of  public  affairs.  Upon  that 
assumption  who  does  not  feel  that  he  has  a 
duty  in  so  far  as  in  him  lies  to  further  the 
movement  in  its  favor?  It  may  be  that  it 
has  not  yet  accomplished  that  which  its 
friends  believe  it  possible  of  accomplishing; 
that  much  is  to  be  done  before  it  is  placed 
upon  a  permanent  and  efficient  basis.  And 
yet  if  it  be  something  which  in  its  develop¬ 
ment  will  redound  to  the  national  well-being 
is  there  not  a  duty  resting  upon  all  to 
strengthen  and  perfect  it? 

Now  these  are  mere  illustrations  of  the 
duty  which,  as  patriotic  citizens,  we  all  feel 
in  reference  to  those  measures  which  tend 
to  promote  the  well-being  of  the  republic. 
Upon  what  grounds  may  we  recognize  our 
obligations  in  these  directions  and  decline 
to  do  anything  to  extend  and  make  more 
efficient  the  principles  of  Christianity?  I 
am  not  now  presenting  this  as  a  question 

67 


affecting  the  life  hereafter.  I  am  putting  it 
before  you  simply  as  a  citizen’s  duty;  as  a 
matter  affecting  only  the  well-being  and 
glory  of  the  republic.  You  may  concede 
that,  as  illustrated  by  the  lives  of  its  pro¬ 
fessed  followers,  Christianity  comes  far  short 
of  what  you  think  it  ought  to  be,  and  yet  if 
you  believe  that  its  spirit  and  principles  are 
freighted  with  blessing  to  the  individual  as 
well  as  to  the  nation,  is  it  not  an  obvious 
duty  to  seek  to  purify  it  in  the  individual 
and  strengthen  it  in  the  nation  ?  The  selfish 
spirit  is  not  a  commendable  element  in  the 
life  of  a  true  citizen.  It  is  as  old  as  scrip¬ 
ture  that  no  man  liveth  unto  himself  alone, 
and  in  the  marvelously  and  increasingly  in¬ 
timate  relations  of  individuals  one  to  the 
other  and  the  growing  power  of  the  citizen 
over  the  life  of  the  nation,  the  unselfish  pa¬ 
triot  must  always  consider  not  simply  his 
own  interests,  his  own  comfort  and  conven¬ 
ience,  but  those  things  which  make  for  the 
well-being  of  all. 

The  significance  of  this  duty  has  another 
aspect.  No  man  liveth  unto  himself  alone, 
may  be  broadened  into,  no  nation  liveth  unto 
itself  alone.  Neighbor  is  no  longer  confined 
to  the  vocabulary  of  the  individual.  It  is  a 
national  word.  Modern  inventions  have  an¬ 
nihilated  distance.  Commercial  relations 
68 


have  broken  down  barriers  of  race  and  relig¬ 
ion,  and  the  family  of  nations  is  a  recog¬ 
nized  fact.  This  republic  has  joined  in  the 
movement  of  the  age.  She  no  longer  lives 
an  isolated  life  separated  by  the  oceans  from 
the  great  powers  of  the  world.  She  sits  in 
the  councils  of  the  nations  and  we  rejoice 
to  speak  of  her  and  hear  her  spoken  of  as  a 
world  power.  Indeed,  some  begin  to  think 
ambitiously  of  this  republic  as  a  sort  of  in¬ 
ternational  policeman,  with  the  right  to  ex¬ 
ercise  all  the  functions  of  a  policeman  in  pre¬ 
serving  order  and  keeping  peace.  The  Mon¬ 
roe  Doctrine  is  to  be  extended.  No  longer 
simply  a  prohibition  upon  further  European 
colonies,  but  a  declaration  that  if  any  Euro¬ 
pean  power  claims  anything  from  any  nation 
on  this  hemisphere  it  must  appeal  to  the 
United  States  and  not  attempt  to  assert  by 
force  its  claims.  We  propose  to  administer 
the  estate  of  San  Domingo,  even  before  its 
death.  We  intend  to  preserve  the  integrity 
of  China.  We  intimated  to  Russia  that  the 
Jews  must  no  longer  be  persecuted.  We  are 
disposed  to  say  to  Turkey  that  Armenian 
life  and  property  must  be  safe,  and  we  hear, 
as  the  Apostle  of  old,  the  cry,  “Come  over 
into  Macedonia  and  help  us.”  I  do  not  stop 
to  discuss  whether  we  are  not  overdoing  in 
this  direction;  whether  it  is  wise  wholly  to 

69 


forget  Washington’s  farewell  advice  to  avoid 
entangling  alliances  with  other  nations. 
Neither  shall  I  attempt  to  criticize  the  re¬ 
cently  announced  maxim  of  national  duty, 
“speak  softly,  but  carry  a  big  stick.”  But  of 
one  thing  I  am  sure.  In  no  other  way  can 
this  republic  become  a  world  power  in  the 
noblest  sense  of  the  word  than  by  putting 
into  her  life  and  the  lives  of  her  citizens  the 
spirit  and  principles  of  the  great  founder  of 
Christianity.  We  have  faith  in  the  future 
of  the  United  States.  We  believe  she  will 
advance  in  many  directions.  She  may  in¬ 
crease  her  territory,  add  to  her  population, 
her  commerce  may  grow  larger,  her  accu¬ 
mulations  in  wealth  surpass  the  wildest 
dreams  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  her  inventive 
skill  subject  all  the  forces  of  nature  to  do 
her  bidding  and  surround  every  home  with 
comforts  and  luxuries  unknown  even  to  the 
present  day.  Besides  her  statues  and  paint¬ 
ings  the  chiseled  beauties  of  Phidias  and  the 
pictured  splendors  of  Raphael  may  seem  the 
works  of  tyros,  her  literature  may  dwarf  all 
the  achievements  of  the  writers  and  thinkers 
of  ages  past  and  thus  she  may  tower  in 
greatness  in  the  sight  of  the  world.  But 
grander  far,  and  far  more  potential  over  the 
nations  will  she  be  when  the  beatitudes  be¬ 
come  the  magna  charta  of  her  life  and  her 
70 


citizens  live  in  full  obedience  to  the  Golden 
Rule.  Then,  and  not  until  then,  will  all 
nations  and  their  peoples  join  rejoicingly 
with  our  citizens  in  this  triumphal  song  to 
the  great  republic : 

“Thou,  too,  sail  on,  oh  Ship  of  State! 

Sail  on,  oh,  Union,  strong  and  great! 
Humanity  with  all  its  fears, 

With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years, 

Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate! 

We  know  what  Master  laid  thy  keel, 

What  workmen  wrought  thy  ribs  of  steel, 
Who  made  each  mast,  and  sail,  and  rope, 
What  anvils  rang,  what  hammers  beat, 

In  what  a  forge  and  what  a  heat 
Were  shaped  the  anchors  of  thy  hope! 

Fear  not  each  sudden  sound  and  shock, 

’Tis  of  the  wave  and  not  the  rock; 

’Tis  but  the  flapping  of  the  sail, 

And  not  a  rent  made  by  the  gale! 

In  spite  of  rock  and  tempest’s  roar, 

In  spite  of  false  lights  on  the  shore, 

Sail  on,  nor  fear  to  breast  the  sea ! 

Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  are  all  with  thee, 

Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  tears, 
Our  faith  triumphant  o’er  our  fears, 

Are  all  with  thee, — are  all  with  thee!” 


% 


71 


III.  THE  PROMISE  AND 
POSSIBILITIES  OF  THE  FUTURE 


THE  PROMISE  AND  POSSIBIL¬ 
ITIES  OF  THE  FUTURE 


ND  now,  what  of  the  future?  If 
Christianity  has  been  so  largely 
identified  with  the  life  of  this 
nation  and  identified  in  a  help¬ 
ful  and  blessing  way,  what 
promise  and  possibilities  does 
it  bring  of  the  future?  Of  course  what¬ 
ever  tends  to  the  better  life  of  the  individ¬ 
ual,  helps  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
nation.  Anything  that  conduces  to  per¬ 
sonal  purity,  morality  and  integrity,  in¬ 
creases  the  same  characteristics  in  the  com¬ 
munity.  It  needs  no  declaration  of  scrip¬ 
ture  to  convince  that  “righteousness  exalteth 
a  nation;  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  peo¬ 
ple.’’  In  so  far,  therefore,  as  the  principles 
and  precepts  of  Christianity  develop  right¬ 
eousness  in  the  individual,  to  the  same  ex¬ 
tent  will  a  similar  result  be  found  in  the  life 
of  the  nation.  This  subject  in  its  general 
features  opens  the  door  to  extended  discus- 

75 


sion  and  is  susceptible  of  many  illustrations. 
The  contrast  between  the  standard  of  life  in 
a  heathen  and  that  in  a  Christian  nation 
shows  the  range  of  examination  into  which 
we  may  enter. 

Out  of  the  wide  field  of  illustration,  let  me 
call  your  attention  to  one  or  two  matters  in 
which  the  Christian  character  of  this  repub¬ 
lic  shines  out  with  richest  promise.  One 
arises  from  the  fact  that  this  nation  is  com¬ 
posed  of  people  of  various  races  and  not 
wholly  or  even  substantially  of  one.  We 
all  have  read  the  story  of  the  dispersion  at 
Babel.  That  story  may  not  be  the  narration 
of  an  actual  experience,  yet  it  is  a  correct 
foreshadowing  of  the  world’s  history.  In 
whatsoever  way  it  commenced,  through  all 
the  ages  the  inhabitants  of  the  globe  have 
been  gathered  in  separate  localities,  each  race 
or  tribe  occupying  its  own  locality.  The 
history  of  the  world  is  one  long  story  of 
strife  between  nation  and  nation,  tribe  and 
tribe,  race  and  race.  And  everywhere  to¬ 
day,  except  here,  we  find  within  the  territory 
of  a  nation  one  race  alone,  or  so  nearly 
alone,  that  it  is  supremely  dominant.  You 
go  to  Germany  and  the  Germans  are  there, 
forming  the  substantial  controlling  part  of 
the  population.  There  may  be  a  few  for¬ 
eigners  engaged  in  business  or  travel,  some 
76 


may  even  make  it  their  home,  but  it  is  a 
German  nation  pure  and  simple,  and  the 
other  races  have  no  place  in  its  life.  In 
France,  Russia,  Turkey,  it  is  the  same.  But 
in  this  republic  it  is  different,  and  no  race 
monopolizes  American  life.  The  dispersion 
at  Babel  has  ended  on  the  banks  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi.  And  the  races  that  once  separated 
and  have  continued  separate  and  antagonis¬ 
tic  for  untold  centuries  are  mingling  here 
in  a  common  life. 

While  all  doubtless  have  in  a  general  way 
some  notion  of  the  many  foreigners  in  our 
midst,  few  realize  the  extent  to  which  this 
nation  is  made  up  of  different  races.  Let 
me  give  a  few  figures  taken  from  the  census 
of  1900.  The  total  population  was  76,000,- 
000,  of  which  67,000,000  were  white,  and 
9,000,000  colored.  That  is  one  race,  9,000,- 
000,  out  of  the  76,000,000.  Of  the  white 
population  there  were  of  native  parentage 
41,000,000,  of  foreign,  26,000,000.  Of  the 
latter,  10,000,000  were  also  of  foreign  birth; 
and  when  you  speak  of  foreign  parentage 
you  must  remember  that  almost  all  of  us, 
going  back  two  or  three  generations,  will 
find  foreign  ancestors.  Of  the  26,000,000 
of  foreign  parentage  there  were  (counting 
by  hundreds  of  thousands)  from  Austria, 
400,000;  Bohemia,  400,000;  Canada,  2,100,- 

77 


ooo;  Denmark,  300,000;  England,  2,100,- 
000;  France,  300,000;  Italy,  700,000;  Ger¬ 
many,  7,800,000;  Hungary,  200,000;  Ire¬ 
land,  5,000,000;  Norway,  800,000;  Poland, 
700,000;  Russia,  700,000;  Scotland,  600,- 
000;  Sweden,  1,100,000;  Switzerland,  300,- 
000;  Wales,  200,000;  other  nations,  1,100,- 
000,  and  of  mixed  parentage,  1,300,000. 

This  multitude  is  here,  not  as  travelers, 
not  with  a  view  of  temporary  sojourn,  but 
to  make  this  their  home.  They  are  invited 
under  our  law  to  become  and  they  do  be¬ 
come  citizens,  sharing  with  us  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  citizenship,  so  that  we 
have  gathered  as  members  of  our  nation 
hundreds  of  thousands  from  almost  every 
race  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  They  come, 
bringing  with  them  that  antagonism  of  race 
which  has  continued  for  centuries.  The  old 
quarrels  are  not  forgotten.  They  bring  with 
them  differences  in  habits  and  thoughts,  in 
political  hopes  and  convictions,  differences 
of  religious  faith,  and  in  many  instances  a 
lack  of  any  faith.  They  come  and  are 
merged  into  the  life  of  this  nation,  and  are, 
as  you  and  I,  to  make  its  destiny.  They 
form  part  of  the  forces  which  are  to  shape 
the  future  of  this  country.  Some  think,  or 
say  they  think,  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  an  overruling  Providence,  that  we  are 


mere  atoms  of  matter  tossed  to  and  fro  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  and  that  here  is  the 
beginning  and  the  end.  They  do  not  take 
into  thought  the  great  life  of  the  ages,  or 
measure  its  movements  from  its  first  feeble 
steps ;  and  yet  they  sometimes  feel  compelled 
to  admit  that  it  seems  as  though  there  were 
something  more  than  mere  blind  chance.  I 
remember  that  Speaker  Reed  once  said  in  a 
public  address  (I  am  not  quoting  his  exact 
words)  that  while  he  himself  was  not  much 
of  a  believer  in  special  providences,  it  did 
seem  as  though  these  things — referring  to 
some  of  the  great  events  of  history — were 
brought  about  by  an  intelligent  and  infinite 
Being.  You  may  fancy  that  the  mingling  of 
all  these  races  in  this  country  is  a  mere  acci¬ 
dent  ;  that  it  simply  happened  so.  And  yet  if 
you  will  reflect  a  little  you  will  be  led  to  the 
conclusion  that,  as  Tennyson  writes: 

“Through  the  ages  one  increasing  purpose 
runs.” 

Four  centuries  ago  the  nations  in  the  then 
known  world  were  living  their  isolated  and 
separate  lives.  Racial  antagonism  was  per¬ 
sistent.  There  was  little  intercourse  be¬ 
tween  them.  Education  was  practically  un¬ 
known.  There  were  a  few  learned  men  here 
and  there.  The  common  people  were  crushed 

79 


to  earth.  Religion,  the  religion  of  Christ, 
was  largely  buried  beneath  a  mass  of  super¬ 
stitions.  The  Bible  was  a  chained  book. 
The  world  was  creeping  on  through  the 
darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  morn¬ 
ing  seemed  away  off  in  the  distance.  Then 
Gutenberg  invented  printing.  Luther  said 
the  Bible  must  be  an  open  book.  The  masses 
began  to  read  and  dream  of  liberty.  Colum¬ 
bus  declared  that  there  was  a  land  away  to 
to  the  west,  he  journeyed  in  little  caravels 
across  the  ocean,  and  America  was  discov¬ 
ered.  To  the  temperate  part  of  this  western 
continent  came  the  Huguenot  from  France, 
the  Pilgrim  from  England,  the  persecuted 
from  different  lands,  and  settled  along  the 
Atlantic  shore.  Religion  was  a  potent  fac¬ 
tor  in  the  settlement  of  these  colonies.  Now 
is  it  not  strange  that  by  mere  chance,  print¬ 
ing,  a  free  Bible,  an  unoccupied  country,  and 
an  absorbing  desire  for  greater  liberty  should 
come  about  the  same  time,  and  that  as  the 
outcome  of  this  coincidence  there  should  set¬ 
tle  upon  the  virgin  soil  of  this  new  conti¬ 
nent  colonies  escaping  from  persecution  and 
bringing  here  education,  liberty  and  relig¬ 
ion  ?  And  then  is  it  not  singular  that  to  this 
new  continent  there  should  come  through 
the  years  that  followed,  from  every  race  on 
the  face  of  the  globe,  a  multitude  seeking  a 
80 


new  home,  settling  beneath  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  feeling  that  in  some  way  or  other 
this  was  the  place  where  the  great  destinies 
of  the  future  were  to  be  wrought  out?  Is 
this  all  accidental  ?  Does  it  not  suggest  that 
in  the  councils  of  eternity,  long  before  man 
began  to  be,  it  was  planned  that  here  in  this 
republic  should  be  worked  out  the  unity  of 
the  race — a  unity  made  possible  by  the  influ¬ 
ences  of  education  and  the  power  of  Chris¬ 
tianity?  Certainly,  to  me  it  is  a  supreme 
conviction,  growing  stronger  and  stronger 
as  the  years  go  by,  that  this  is  one  purpose 
of  Providence  in  the  life  of  this  republic, 
and  that  to  this  end  we  are  to  take  from 
every  race  its  strongest  and  best  elements 
and  characteristics,  and  mold  and  fuse  them 
into  one  homeogeneous  American  life. 

Some  of  you  know  something  about  com¬ 
posite  photography,  and  how  face  after  face 
is  thrown  upon  the  same  plate  until  a  picture 
is  produced  which  is  a  representation  of 
thirty  or  forty  faces,  one  upon  another.  As 
you  look  at  this  composite  picture  you  see 
that  the  marked  and  strong  characteristics 
of  each  face  are  visible,  while  the  weak  ones 
are  lost.  America  is  the  great  national  pho¬ 
tographer.  She  takes  from  every  race  its 
best  elements  and  is  to  mold  them  into  one 
American  character. 

6 


81 


What  does  all  this  mean?  If  there  be  a 
purpose  running  through  the  life  of  the 
world,  is  it  not  plain  that  one  thought  in  the 
divine  plan  was  that  in  this  republic  should 
be  unfolded  and  developed  in  the  presence  of 
the  world  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of 
man?  To  the  full  realization  of  this  some¬ 
thing  more  is  necessary  than  a  mere  unit¬ 
ing  in  the  active  duties  of  our  daily  life; 
something  more  than  interracial  marriages 
bringing  the  races  into  one  common  stock; 
something  more  than  a  mingling  in  toil, 
whether  on  the  farm,  in  the  shop,  the  factory 
or  the  office,  the  working  together  in  the 
same  political  parties,  or  the  prosecution  of 
the  same  lines  of  study  and  identification  in 
all  material  interests.  Beyond  all  this  must 
be  developed  the  essentials  of  a  pure  family 
life,  a  community  of  thought  and  purpose  in 
those  higher  things  which  make  for  the  bet¬ 
terment  of  all.  It  is  not  that  here  one  race 
shall  be  enabled  to  rise  to  the  fullest  develop¬ 
ment  of  its  capacity,  while  all  other  races 
are  ministering  to  that  uplifting,  but  rather 
that  each  and  every  one  of  every  race  should 
be  given  the  amplest  opportunity  for  his  own 
elevation.  No  perfect  family  exists  where 
one  is  bound  down  with  the  lower  duties  in 
order  that  another  shall  rise.  It  exists  only 
82 


when  each  is  given  the  fullest  possible  scope 
for  his  own  uprising.  There  will  always  be 
diversity  of  work,  but  the  open  door  must 
be  before  every  one. 

For  the  realization  of  this  can  anything  be 
more  potent  than  the  golden  rule,  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity?  Under 
its  power  each  will  be  faithful  in  the  work 
he  does,  while  evermore  to  him  is  out¬ 
stretched  the  helping  hand  of  all.  And  so 
it  will  be  that  all  races  mingling  in  the  com¬ 
mon  American  life  will  give  to  it  of  >their 
best,  and  here,  first  of  all,  will  be  realized  the 
fulfillment  of  the  final  prayer  of  the  Master 
in  the  Upper  Chamber,  “That  they  all  may 
be  one;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in 
Thee.”  Surely  this  republic  may  glory  in 
the  opportunity  through  its  Christian  life 
and  power  of  winning  for  herself  the  great 
glory  of  such  achievement. 

Another  door  of  promise  is  open  in  the 
opportunity  before  her  of  realizing  within 
her  borders  the  highest  standard  of  life.  One 
of  the  pressing  dangers  facing  all  civilized 
nations  is  the  enervating  influence  of  wealth 
and  great  material  development.  That  was 
the  one  thing  which  sapped  the  life  of  the 
great  nations  of  antiquity  and  buried  them 
in  the  tombs  of  their  own  vices.  In  each 
there  was  a  wonderful  accumulation  of 

83 


wealth,  marvelous  manifestations  of  mate¬ 
rial  splendor,  but  the  moral  character  of 
their  citizens  was  undermined  thereby  and 
they  declined  and  fell.  The  hanging  gar¬ 
dens  of  Babylon,  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  the 
sculptured  beauty  which  lined  the,  streets  of 
Athens,  and  all  that  luxurious  display  which 
attended  the  centering  in  Rome  of  the  prod¬ 
ucts  of  the  civilizations  of  the  earth  in  their 
day  provoked  the  admiration  and  were  the 
boast  of  their  citizens.  They  passed  through 
the  same  round  of  experience.  Wealth 
brought  luxury,  luxury  brought  vice  and  vice 
was  followed  by  ruin  and  decay.  And  now 
we  dig  through  the  accumulating  dust  of  cen¬ 
turies  to  find  even  the  ruins  of  their  vanished 
splendor. 

To-day  we  are  in  the  presence  of  a  like 
marvelous  material  development.  It  is  one 
of  the  phenomena  which  attracts  everybody’s 
attention.  You  hear  on  all  sides  descriptions 
of  the  wonderful  things  which  the  scientific 
mind  and  the  ingenious  skill  of  the  country 
is  accomplishing.  The  skyscrapers,  the  tun¬ 
nels,  the  railroads,  the  mighty  steamships, 
the  telegraph,  the  cable,  the  telephone,  all 
these  things,  with  their  accompanying  con¬ 
veniences  and  luxuries,  are  before  us.  I 
am  not  here  to  say  aught  against  the  mag¬ 
nificence  of  this  material  development,  but, 
84 


remember  it  is  only  a  means  to  an  end.  We 
do  not  live  to  make  bricks  and  mortar,  nor 
to  build  skyscrapers.  You  go  on  the  banks 
of  the  Nile,  and  there,  rivalling  all  that  we 
have  builded,  stand  those  gloomy,  lofty  pyra¬ 
mids,  as  they  have  stood  for  century  after 
century,  looking  out  over  the  silent  sands, 
speaking  no  word  to  humanity  of  cheer  and 
encouragement,  telling  no  tale  of  something 
done  for  the  betterment  of  the  race,  and  in 
their  cold,  sad  solitude  witnesses  only  to 
unrequited  toil  in  behalf  of  men  whose 
names  have  almost  vanished  from  history. 
Macauley,  in  one  of  his  beautiful  essays, 
suggests  that  possibly  the  time  may  come 
when  some  South  Sea  Islander  will  stand  on 
the  broken  arches  of  London  Bridge,  look¬ 
ing  upon  the  deserted  ruins  of  that  city  and 
wondering  at  the  civilization  that  in  it  once 
prevailed.  That  which  alone  will  save  this 
country  from  the  destiny  which  has  attended 
those  nations  which  have  vanished  into  ob¬ 
livion,  that  which  will  make  our  marvelous 
material  development  something  for  the 
glory  of  humanity  and  the  upbuilding  and 
permanence  of  this  republic,  is  the  putting 
into  the  life  of  the  nation  the  conviction 
that  the  purpose  and  end  of  all  is  the  build¬ 
ing  up  of  a  better  manhood  and  womanhood. 

How  is  this  to  be  accomplished?  Not 

85 


certainly  by  giving  up  all  our  thought  to 
material  development.  “As  a  man  thinketh, 
so  is  he.”  And  if  the  nation  puts  all  its 
energies  and  thought  into  simply  the  work 
of  extending  its  commerce,  improving  its 
highways,  building  up  great  cities  and  add¬ 
ing  to  its  manufactures,  it  may  expect  the 
fate  which  attended  those  departed  nations. 

Neither  is  it  accomplished  by  any  incul¬ 
cation  of  the  merely  utilitarian  philosophy  of 
a  selfish  morality.  Honesty  undoubtedly  is 
the  best  policy.  It  is  a  maxim,  good  in  itself, 
but  if  the  only  thought  is  of  the  pecuniary 
results  of  such  a  policy  it  will  fail.  He  who 
is  honest  in  his  dealings  simply  because  of 
the  social  prestige  and  position  it  secures  will 
never  develop  his  higher  nature,  but  will 
always  live  along  the  lower  lines.  You  must 
fill  the  soul  with  the  impulses  of  the  higher 
spirit  of  righteousness,  the  spirit  that  makes 
justice  and  uprightness  things  to  be  sought 
after  because  of  their  own  blessed  influences 
upon  the  individual — that  spirit  which  is 
measured  not  by  its  capacity  for  coinage  into 
dollars,  but  by  its  power  upon  the  life.  The 
better  life  rests  less  on  the  prohibitions  of 
the  Ten  Commandments  and  more  on  the 
parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan  and  the 
Golden  Rule.  The  rich  man  who  came  to  the 
Master,  declared  in  reference  to  the  Com- 
86 


mandments,  ‘'All  these  have  I  kept  from  my 
youth  up,”  but  his  weakness  was  pierced  by 
the  searching  reply,  “One  thing  thou  yet 
lackest ;  go — sell  whatsoever  thou  hast — and 
follow  me.”  In  other  words,  Christianity, 
entering  into  the  life  of  the  individual,  and 
thus  into  the  life  of  the  nation,  is  the  only 
sure  antidote  for  the  poisonous  touch  of  mere 
material  prosperity.  Do  you  ever  doubt  the 
outcome,  or  dread  to  think  of  the  possible 
future  of  the  republic  ?  Remember  that — 

“Behind  the  dim  unknown, 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow,  keeping 
watch  above  His  own.” 

Another  illustration  is  in  its  influence  for 
peace  in  the  world.  Christianity  is  called  the 
gospel  of  peace.  Among  the  names  which 
in  prophecy  were  ascribed  to  its  founder  is 
that  of  “Prince  of  Peace.”  At  the  time  of 
his  birth  it  is  said  that  the  doors  of  the 
Temple  of  Janus  in  Rome  were  closed  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  peace  for  the  time 
being  prevailed  in  all  the  nations.  Among 
the  last  words  to  his  disciples  in  the  upper 
chamber  were,  “Peace  I  leave  with  you.” 
The  dream  of  the  warring  world  has  ever 
been  of  the  coming  of  a  time  when  peace 

87 


should  prevail.  War,  however  just,  how¬ 
ever  righteous,  is  attended  with  unspeakable 
horrors.  All  accept  General  Sherman’s  char¬ 
acterization  that  “war  is  hell.”  It  is  to  the 
glory  of  this  nation  that  it  has  already  done 
so  much  in  the  interests  of  peace  and  to 
minimize  the  horrors  of  war.  In  Jay’s 
Treaty  with  Great  Britain,  in  1794,  there 
were  stipulations  against  the  confiscation  of 
debts  due  from  the  individuals  of  the  one 
nation  to  individuals  of  the  other,  and  for 
the  peaceful  residence  of  citizens  of  either 
nation  in  the  territory  of  the  other  during 
the  continuance  of  the  war.  At  the  time 
of  the  French  Revolution  our  govern¬ 
ment  issued  stringent  orders  in  respect  to 
the  preservation  of  neutrality — so  stringent 
as  to  call  from  Mr.  Hall,  the  recent  leading 
English  writer  on  international  law,  the 
declaration  that  “the  policy  of  the  United 
States  in  1793  constitutes  an  epoch  in  the 
development  of  the  usages  of  neutrality.” 
During  the  administration  of  Mr.  Monroe 
our  government  proposed  to  France,  Eng¬ 
land  and  Russia,  that  in  times  of  war  mer¬ 
chant  vessels  and  their  cargoes  belonging  to 
subjects  of  belligerent  powers  should  be  ex¬ 
empt  from  capture.  While  we  did  not  assent 
in  1856  to  the  Declaration  of  Paris,  by 
which  privateering  was  abolished,  we  of- 
88 


fered  to  agree  to  it  if  the  nations  would  con¬ 
sent  that  private  property  on  the  seas  should 
be  free  from  capture.  Since  then  we  have 
agreed  to  the  abolition  of  privateering.  The 
proclamations  of  our  Presidents  at  the  com¬ 
mencements  of  recent  wars  and  the  decisions 
of  our  Supreme  Court  have  been  along  the 
line  of  ameliorating  the  hardships  of  war. 
We  stood  with  Great  Britain  at  Ihe  Hague 
Conference  as  the  most  earnest  advocates  of 
the  establishment  of  an  international  arbitra¬ 
tion  tribunal,  and  in  the  Orient,  China  and 
Japan  each  recognize  this  government  as  of 
all,  the  most  free  from  selfish  motives  in  its 
treatment  of  them  and  action  for  them.  1  he 
integrity  of  China  depends  on  this  republic, 
and  the  territorial  limits  of  the  present  war 
have  been  narrowed  at  our  instance.  Our 
international  relations  have  been  lifted  from 
the  lower  to  a  higher  plane.  Diplomatic 
language  is  no  longer  a  means  of  concealing, 
but  of  expressing  thought  and  purpose. 
Neither  Machiavelli  nor  Tallyrand  is  the 
type  of  American  diplomacy. 

Does  the  day  of  peace  seem  a  long  way 
off?  Think  of  the  ages  upon  ages  during 
which,  even  within  the  limits  of  a  nation  with 
its  compact  and  unifying  forces,  has  been 
evolving  the  supremacy  of  right  over  might 
and  the  settlement  of  disputes  by  judicial 

89 


action  rather  than  physical  force.  We  have 
no  reason  to  expect  a  speedy  coming  of  the 
day  when  the  judicial  function  will  settle  all 
disputes  between  nations.  A  nation  may  be 
born  in  a  day,  but  the  great  truths  which 
make  for  the  glory  and  uplift  of  the  race 
only  through  long  ages  permeate  and  con¬ 
trol  humanity.  We  must  have  the  divine 
patience  and  understand  the  divine  mathe¬ 
matics  of  a  thousand  years  as  one  day. 
There  will  yet  be  wars  and  rumors  of  wars. 
Our  own  loved  land  will  not  be  exempt.  The 
cry  for  a  larger  navy  will  long  be  a  party 
slogan.  The  air  will  be  resonant  with  the 
blare  of  bugles.  The  tramp,  tramp,  of  armed 
battalions  will  be  along  our  streets.  Statues 
of  our  great  commanders  will  be  seen  in  all 
our  parks  and  buildings,  and  present  history 
will  be  filled  with  the  story  of  military  and 
naval  achievements.  But  the  leaven  of  the 
immortal  truth  that  right  rather  than  might 
attests  the  ideal  life  is  already  working  in 
the  mass  of  humanity,  and  slowly  it  will 
leaven  the  whole  lump.  I  am  not  here  to 
make  light  of  the  patriotic  devotion  of  our 
military  and  naval  heroes.  I  would  not  take 
one  jot  or  title  from  all  the  glory  which  at¬ 
tends  our  army  and  navy  and  crowns  with 
laurel  its  heroes.  But  at  the  same  time  I 
want  to  affirm  my  faith  that  the  laurels  of 
90 


peace  are  more  enduring  than  those  of  war. 
Time,  which  is  the  Almighty’s  great  right 
hand  of  recompense,  will  brighten  the  one 
while  it  dims  the  other.  John  Marshall  will 
be  remembered  when  Winfield  Scott  is  for¬ 
gotten.  In  the  far  off  future  the  names  of 
our  greatest  commanders  will  fill  a  lessening 
space  in  the  horizon  of  history,  while  with 
ever  brightening  splendor  will  shine  the 
name  of  America’s  peace-loving  and  golden- 
rule  diplomat,  Secretary  John  Hay.  The 
measure  of  fame  will  be  meted  out  by  Him 
who  has  declared  that  He  will  lay  judgment 
to  the  line  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet. 
Is  not  it  a  great  thing  to  be  a  leader  among 
the  nations  in  the  effort  to  bring  on  that 
day  when  the  sword  shall  be  beaten  into  the 
ploughshare  and  the  spear  into  the  pruning 
hook,  and  when  war  shall  cease?  And  the 
more  thoroughly  this  republic  is  filled  with 
the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  the  more  universal 
the  rule  of  Christianity  in  the  hearts  of  our 
people,  the  more  certainly  will  she  ever  be 
the  welcome  leader  in  movements  for  peace 
among  the  nations. 

Nineteen  centuries  ago  there  broke  upon 
the  startled  ears  of  Judea’s  shepherds  watch¬ 
ing  their  flocks  beside  the  village  of  Bethle¬ 
hem,  the  only  angel’s  song  ever  heard  by  the 
children  of  earth: 


9i 


“It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear, 

That  glorious  song  of  old, 

From  angels  bending  near  the  earth 
To  touch  their  harps  of  gold: 

‘Peace  on  the  earth,  good-will  to  men 
From  Heaven’s  all  gracious  king.’  ” 

The  air  above  Judea’s  plains  no  longer 
pulsates  with  the  waves  of  this  celestial  song. 
For  sad  and  weary  centuries  the  march  of 
humanity  upwards  has  been  through  strife 
and  blood.  But  a  growing  echo  of  the  heav¬ 
enly  music  is  filling  the  hearts  of  men  and 
the  time  will  come,  the  blessed  time  will 
come — 

“When  the  whole  world  gives  back  the  song 
Which  now  the  angels  sing.” 

One  thing  more.  Whatever  difference  of 
opinion  there  may  be  as  to  the  divinity  of 
the  Man  of  Galilee,  His  position  as  a  man 
is  confessedly  supreme.  Renan,  the  brilliant 
French  writer,  closed  his  life  of  Christ  with 
these  words: 

“Whatever  the  unexpected  phenomena  of 
the  future,  Jesus  will  never  be  surpassed. 
His  worship  will  constantly  renew  its  youth, 
the  legend  of  His  life  will  bring  ceaseless 
tears,  his  -  sufferings  will  soften  the  best 
92 


hearts ;  all  the  ages  will  proclaim  that, 
amongst  the  sons  of  men,  none  has  been 
born  who  is  greater  than  Jesus.” 

By  common  consent  he  stands  the  most 
potent  individual  force  for  the  highest 
things  of  life.  How  strange  it  is  that  a 
Galilean  youth,  away  from  the  centers  of 
civilization,  untaught  in  the  schools,  living 
a  humble  life  among  country  people,  famil¬ 
iar  with  poverty  and  having  no  place 
whereon  to  lay  His  head,  dying  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three,  after  only  three  years  of  public 
presentation  of  Himself,  at  the  time  making 
so  little  impression  on  the  life  of  the  world 
that  only  a  single  word  or  two  respecting 
Him  is  found  in  the  records  of  Rome,  the 
great  center  of  civilization — should  now, 
after  the  lapse  of  nineteen  centuries,  be  re¬ 
vered  as  Divine  by  millions  upon  millions,  be 
universally  acknowledged  as  the  most  up¬ 
lifting  power  known  to  humanity  and  whose 
power  is  ever  widening  until  it  touches  all 
quarters  of  the  globe.  Faith  in  Him  goes 
hand  in  hand  with  the  highest  civilization, 
and  all  realize  that  the  more  His  spirit  enters 
into  one’s  life  the  better  that  life  becomes. 
In  the  light  of  this  admitted  fact,  can  any 
one  look  thoughtfully  upon  the  future  of 
this  nation  without  believing  that  if  His 
spirit  shall  become  more  and  more  potent 

93 


not  merely  the  individual  citizens,  but  the 
nation  as  a  whole  will  rise  in  all  the  ele¬ 
ments  of  moral  grandeur  and  power. 

With  patriotic  and  prophetic  vision  we 
see  our  beloved  country  advancing,  not  alone 
along  the  lines  of  material  prosperity  and 
accumulating  wealth,  but  also  along  the  bet¬ 
ter  lines  of  increasing  intelligence  and  a 
loftier  sense  of  duty.  We  see  her  quickened 
by  the  ennobling  power  of  the  golden  rule, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  bid¬ 
ding  all  her  citizens  to  seek  first  the  king¬ 
dom  of  God  and  its  righteousness;  intro¬ 
ducing  into  the  vocabulary  of  international 
law  the  blessed  word  neighbor,  and  leading 
humanity  along  the  kindly  ways  of  peace 
and  mutual  helpfulness  until  “out  of  every 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  na¬ 
tion”  shall  rise  a  glad  psalm  of  thanksgiving 
and  joy  that  in  the  good  providence  of  the 
Almighty  there  has  been  planted  upon  these 
western  shores  the  living  and  growing  tree 
of  liberty,  education  and  Christian  princi¬ 
ples. 

Young  gentlemen,  to  you,  as  to  compara¬ 
tively  few  in  the  long  lapse  of  centuries, 
comes  the  magnificent  opportunity.  Before 
you  is  the  open  door  to  great  achievement 
and  great  usefulness.  With  rich  endow¬ 
ment  of  youth,  health,  friends  and  educa- 

94 


tion  you  stand  in  the  morning  hours  of  that 
which  is  to  be  a  century  of  unsurpassed  sig¬ 
nificance.  W e  look  back  on  the  last  fifty 
years  as  years  of  wonderful  scientific  devel¬ 
opment  and  marvelous  inventions,  yet  Lord 
Kelvin,  perhaps  the  greatest  scientist  of  to¬ 
day,  said  in  substance,  not  long  since,  that, 
wonderful  as  have  been  the  accomplishments 
in  these  respects  during  those  years,  we  are 
trembling  on  the  verge  of  inventions  and 
discoveries  as  far  surpassing  them  as  they 
do  any  that  have  gone  before.  That  declara¬ 
tion  coming  from  such  a  mind  was  and  is 
prophetic.  Since  then  wireless  telegraphy 
has  come,  and  who  shall  guess  the  next  mar¬ 
vel  ? 

The  spirit  of  liberty  is  shaking  thrones 
and  dynasties  the  world  over,  and  making 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and 
for  the  people,  a  nearer  fact.  Even  that  great 
embodiment  of  despotism  among  civilized 
nations,  Russia,  is  now  rocking  from  one 
end  to  the  other  through  its  dynamic  explo¬ 
sions.  Education  is  sweeping  through  the 
world  and  the  common  school  is  lifting  the 
masses  up  to  a  higher  level  and  a  stronger 
citizenship.  Engineering  skill  seems  to 
know  no  limits.  Time  and  space  are  abol¬ 
ished.  Steam  is  slow  and  giving  place,  to 
electricity.  Gigantic  combinations  of  capital 

95 


grapple  without  hesitation  gigantic  schemes 
of  improvement.  Overflowing  streams  of 
commerce  circle  the  world.  The  human 
brain  is  under  constant  strain.  Life  has 
become  strenuous.  Every  one  is  throwing 
into  the  great  cauldron  of  public  opinion 
some  scheme  or  plan  or  idea,  practical  or 
visionary,  sensible  or  foolish,  until  it  seems 
as  though  beside  that  cauldron  were  ever 
present  the  witches  of  Macbeth  chanting — 

“Double,  double,  toil  and  trouble; 

Fire  burn,  and  cauldron  bubble.” 

Out  of  this  tremendous  activity,  these  gi¬ 
gantic  combinations,  will  come  achievements 
marvelous  beyond  even  the  flights  of  fancy. 
Into  this  century  with  all  its  possibilities  you 
enter  as  young  men.  You  have  the  grasp 
of  a  lifetime  upon  them.  Your  presence  in 
this  institution  is  to  fit  yourselves  to  take 
pait  in  those  achievements.  I  know  not 
what  may  be  your  respective  places  in  life. 
The  avenues  of  labor  and  usefulness  are 
many  and  pointing  in  diverse  directions. 
Business,  science,  art,  medicine,  law,  theol- 
ogy,  all  are  before  you.  In  no  country  on  the 
face  of  the  globe  is  there  an  equal  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  the  individual  brain  and  the  per¬ 
sonal  force.  There  is  that  freedom  which 
96 


gives  ample  scope  for  individual  activities. 
All  that  you  do  and  achieve  will  enter  into 
and  become  part  of  the  national  glory  or  the 
national  shame.  You  can  make  your  names 
honored  ones  in  the  history  of  the  republic, 
or  by- words  and  a  reproach.  You  may  re¬ 
peat  the  story  of  Alexander  Hamilton  or 
that  of  Aaron  Burr. 

I  cannot  doubt  your  choice  and  purpose. 
No  man  covets  infamy  and  the  young,  thank 
God,  have  lofty  ideals. 

“Fear  not  to  build  thine  eyrie  in  the  heights 
Where  golden  splendors  play; 

And  trust  thyself  unto  thine  inmost  soul, 

In  simple  faith  alway; 

For  God  will  make  divinely  real 
The  highest  forms  of  thine  ideal.” 

How  can  those  ideals  be  best  incorporated 
into  your  lives  and  thus  into  the  life  of  the 
nation?  You  know  what  a  Christian  home 
is,  even  if  not  brought  up  in  one.  Whether 
a  humble  one  with  scanty  furnishings,  or  a 
more  pretentious  one  with  costlier  adorn¬ 
ments,  in  each  you  found  truthfulness, 
purity;  the  spirit  of  peace  was  upon  it;  in¬ 
dustry  dwelt  there,  self-respect  in  the  indi¬ 
vidual  and  mutual  respect  in  all.  Will  you 
add  one  more  to  the  many  of  those  homes 

97 


7 


in  the  land?  You  can  bring  to  it  strength 
and  ability  to  work.  You  can  bring  culti¬ 
vated  intelligence  and  the  delights  of  litera¬ 
ture  and  science.  You  may  introduce  into 
it  the  sweet  and  refining  touch  of  music  and 
the  other  arts.  You  may  place  on  the  other 
side  of  the  table  the  angel  of  the  household, 
whose  gentleness  and  grace  add  so  much  to 
the  sweetness  of  home  life.  Crown  all  these 
with  the  inspirations  which  come  from 
Christianity,  place  the  Bible  on  your  table 
and  enshrine  the  Master  in  your  heart  and 
you  may  be  sure  you  are  building  up  a  home 
which  will  be  not  merely  peace  and  blessing 
to  you,  but  also  for  the  strength  and  glory 
of  the  republic.  And  when  the  evening  of  life 
comes  nigh  and  you  see  such  homes  multiply 
in  the  land,  this  nation  become  more  thor¬ 
oughly  filled  with  the  spirit  and  principles 
of  Christianity,  more  justly  and  universally 
entitled  to  the  appellation  of  a  Christian 
nation,  you  will  sing  with  Julia  Ward 
Howe : 

“Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  com¬ 
ing  of  the  Lord.” 


98 


SOCIAL  LAW  IN  THE 

SPIRITUAL  WORLD 

Studies  in  Human  and  Divine  Inter-Relationship 

BY 

Rufus  M.  Jones,  A.M.,  Litt.  D. 

Professor  of  Philosophy  in  Haverford  College ,  Pa. 

This  is  a  fresh  interpretation  of  the  deep¬ 
est  problems  of  life.  It  discusses  the  most 
interesting  phases  of  recent  psychological  in¬ 
vestigation  into  spiritual  subjects. 

“  Professor  Jones  offers  here  a  series  of  studies 
on  the  nature  and  meaning  of  Personality. 

He  is  at  home  in  modern  psychology  and  tells 
it  effectively  for  his  purpose  in  freedom  from 
technicalities.” — The  Outlook. 

“The  author  has  written  the  twelve  chapters 
of  this  book  dealing  with  such  subjects  as  The 
Meaning  of  Personality,  The  Realization  of 
Persons,  The  Sub-Conscious  Life,  The  Inner 
Light,  etc.,  etc.,  with  an  aim  to  show  through 
Psychology,  as  Drummond  showed  through 
Biology,  that  life  can  be  unified  from  top  to 
bottom.” — Christian  Work  and  the  Evan¬ 
gelist. 

“The  author  bears  a  unique  equipment  for 
the  task,  having  stndied  Philosophy  at  Harvard 
under  Royce  and  Palmer,  and  acquired  the  art 
of  presenting  it  to  untrained  thinkers  in  his 
capacity  of  Professor  of  Philosophy  at  Haver¬ 
ford  College.  ” — British  Friend. 

12mo.  272  pages.  Extra  Vellum  Cloth , 
Gilt  Top ,  Uncut  Edges.  Price  $  1 .25 
Net  ( Postage  10  Cents). 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  COMPANY 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


Practical  Christianity 

By  Rufus  M.  Jones,  A.M.,  Litt.D. 

Professor  of  Philosophy  at 
Haverford  College 

This  is  a  collection  of  short,  prac¬ 
tical  articles  on  important  religious  sub¬ 
jects.  It  deals  with  questions  which  every 
thinking  man  must  meet  in  a  practical 
way,  and  it  contains  a  positive  message 
for  the  times. 

In  the  fifty-three  essays  many  of  the 
most  important  phases  of  the  spiritual  life 
receive  consideration,  and  the  notes  of 
hope  and  victory,  and  faith  in  the  over¬ 
coming  life,  are  everywhere  manifest. 

It  is  a  book  which  should  appeal  to  all 
classes  of  Christians.  The  book  also 
contains  a  suggestive  chapter  on  “The 
Message  of  Quakerism.” 

12mo.  208  Pages.  Oxford 

laid  paper.  Bound  in 
silk  cloth ,  gilt  top . 

Price  $1.00 
postpaid. 

The  John  C.  Winston  Co., 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


The  Roots  of  Christian 
Teaching  as  Found 
in  the  Old  Testament 

By  George  Aaron  Barton,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D., 

Associate  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Semitic 
Languages  in  Bryn  Mawr  College. 

Author  of  “  A  Sketch  of  Semitic  Origins,”  Etc.,  Etc. 

This  volume  has  been  written  from  the 
standpoint  of  modern  knowledge  and  modern 
methods,  for  those  who  would  study  the  Old 
Testament  devotionally .  It  gives  brief  sketches 
of  Old  Testament  ideas  and  institutions  mingled 
with  character-studies  of  a  number  of  Old  Tes¬ 
tament  heroes,  with  brief  meditations  upon  the 
great  themes  of  Christian  truth,  Christian 
character  and  Christian  duty  as  foreshadowed 
in  the  Old  Testament  Revelation.  It  is  written 
in  a  pleasing,  popular  style  for  the  lay  reader. 

‘  ‘  Taken  in  connection  with  Professor  Bar¬ 
ton’s  noteworthy,  critical  work  on  “  Semitic 
Origins,”  this  series  of  brief  meditations  for 
busy  men  and  women  testifies  especially  to 
those  who  shrink  from  modern  views  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  that  critical  studies  yield 
devotional  fruit.  ******  Devotional 
books  of  this  sort  are  rare,  and  one  which  can 
be  read  with  satisfaction,  undisturbed  by  con¬ 
tradictions  of  modern  learning,  is  especially 
welcome.” — The  Outlook ,  New  York . 

12mo.  275  pp.  Size,  llA  x  5%. 

Cloth,  gilt  top,  uncut  edges. 

Price,  postpaid,  $1.25. 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


A  History 

OF 

The  Society  of  Friends 
in  America 

BY 

ALLEN  C.  THOMAS,  A.M. 

HAVERFORD  COLLEGE 
AND 

RICHARD  H.  THOMAS,  M.D. 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 


NEW  AND  REVISED  EDITION,  1905 

Brought  down  to  date  and  including  valu¬ 
able  statistics  and  information  irj  regard  to 
the  Society  of  Friends  in  America. 

“  A  work  on  ‘  The  History  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  in  America,*  which  is  likely  for 
many  days  to  be  a  standard  text-book  on  the 
subject.”  —  The  London  Friend. 

“We  have  read  it  with  interest.  It  gives 
evidence  of  much  research  and  of  a  disposi¬ 
tion  to  observe  the  impartiality  of  faithful 
historians.” — The  Friend ,  Philadelphia. 


12mo.  Cloth.  Price,  $1.00  Net 

(Postage,  10  Cents) 


THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


The  Life  and  Letters 

OF 

‘Richard  H.  Thomas,  M.D. 

BY  HIS  WIFE 

ANNA  BRETHWAITE  THOMAS 

With  a  Preface  by 
J.  RENDEL  HARRIS,  Litt.D. 

Illustrated  with  Portraits  and  Scenes 
Connected  with  His  Life. 

This  is  the  life  story  of  a  high-souled  and 
valiant  man;  a  spiritual  teacher  in  the  Society  ot 
Friends,  well-known  and  beloved  in  America  and 
England. 

“  All  who  read  the  book  will  be  impressed 
with  the  splendid  heroism  of  the  man  whose 
health  broke  down  at  26,  just  as  he  was  open¬ 
ing  a  great  career  of  usefulness,  and  who  kept 
his  face  straight  to  the  sunlight  and  went  on 
doing  what  he  could.  Losses  and  misunder¬ 
standings  came,  too,  but  he  was  not  defeated; 
rather,  he  turned  these  things  into  spiritual 
fibre,  and  came  through  them  with  a  new 
sweetness  and  tenderness.  It  was  a  beautiful 
life,  and  one  can  only  wish  that  the  story  of  it 
now  told  may  help  many  readers  to  find  the 
real  quality  and  power  of  it.” 

The  American  Friend. 


12mo.  438  pp.  Bound  in  Cloth. 
Deckel  Edge,  Gilt  Top,  Lettering 
on  Side  and  Back.  $2.00  Prepaid. 


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Christian  JVorkeDs  ‘Bible 

Marked  in  Red  on  Every  Subject 
connected  with  the  theme  of  Salvation. 

A  reference  to  the  first  verse  on  each  subject  is 
printed  after  the  subject  in  the  index.  After  every 
verse  or  passage  marked  in  this  Bible  there  is  a 
reference  to  the  next  verse  or  passage  on  the  same 
subject. 

With  Introduction  and  Helpful  Suggestions  for  the 
Worker,  and  with  nearly  3000  Texts  Marked 
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JESSE  LYMAN  HURLBUT,  D.D. 

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In  the  Old  Testament  the  prophetic  types  and 
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—  ■  ~ 

Date  Due 

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JY  15'49 

MY  8 

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